Robert Joseph Pothier
Encyclopedia
Robert Joseph Pothier was a French
jurist
.
He was born and died at Orléans
, France and is buried in the Cathedral of Orleans. He studied law
to qualify for the magistracy, and was appointed Judge in 1720 of the Presidial Court of Orléans, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He held the post for fifty-two years.
Pothier paid particular attention to the correction and co-ordination of the text of the Pandects
. His Pandectae Justinianae in novum ordinem digestae (Paris and Chartres, 1748-1752) is a classic in the study of Roman law
. In 1749 he was made professor of law at the University of Orleans
.
He wrote many learned monographs on French law, and much of his work was incorporated almost textually in the French Code Civil. His theories on the law of contract were influential in England as well as in the USA.
Pothier devised a law limiting recovery in the case of improper performance of a contractual obligation to those damages which are foreseeable.
His numerous treatises include:
His works have been published in collected form on several occasions, the first edited by Giffrein in 1820-1824.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
.
He was born and died at Orléans
Orléans
-Prehistory and Roman:Cenabum was a Gallic stronghold, one of the principal towns of the Carnutes tribe where the Druids held their annual assembly. It was conquered and destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, then rebuilt under the Roman Empire...
, France and is buried in the Cathedral of Orleans. He studied law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
to qualify for the magistracy, and was appointed Judge in 1720 of the Presidial Court of Orléans, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He held the post for fifty-two years.
Pothier paid particular attention to the correction and co-ordination of the text of the Pandects
Pandects
The Digest, also known as the Pandects , is a name given to a compendium or digest of Roman law compiled by order of the emperor Justinian I in the 6th century .The Digest was one part of the Corpus Juris Civilis, the body of civil law issued under Justinian I...
. His Pandectae Justinianae in novum ordinem digestae (Paris and Chartres, 1748-1752) is a classic in the study of Roman law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
. In 1749 he was made professor of law at the University of Orleans
University of Orléans
-History:In 1230, when for a time the doctors of the University of Paris were scattered, a number of the teachers and disciples took refuge in Orléans; when pope Boniface VIII, in 1298, promulgated the sixth book of the Decretals, he appointed the doctors of Bologna and the doctors of Orléans to...
.
He wrote many learned monographs on French law, and much of his work was incorporated almost textually in the French Code Civil. His theories on the law of contract were influential in England as well as in the USA.
Pothier devised a law limiting recovery in the case of improper performance of a contractual obligation to those damages which are foreseeable.
His numerous treatises include:
- Traité des obligations (1761)
- Du Contrat de vente (1762)
- Du Contrat de bail (1764)
- Du Contrat de société (1765)
- Des Contrats de prêt de consomption (1766)
- Du Contrat de depot et de mandat (1766)
- Du Contrat de nantissement (1767)
His works have been published in collected form on several occasions, the first edited by Giffrein in 1820-1824.