What is Revolutionary in the Legal Construction of Modern States?

Jean-Louis Halpérin (1, 2)

1 CTAD - Centre de Théorie et Analyse du Droit
2 THEORHIS - Centre de théorie du droit

If one agrees to see the beginning of Modern States in Europe during the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries, the issue of the legal criteria for identifying such a revolution is more controversial. What are the differences between a city, an Empire, a decentralized pre-modern State and a modern State? This chapter focuses on the sea change in the use of legal sources (notably the growth of statutory norms) and on the rulers’ policy for reforming legal professions. The origins of the so-called “hierarchy of norms” are also questioned, in the context of great European kingdoms and colonial powers. The conclusion is in favour of these criteria for identifying a true legal revolution achieved in Modern States since the seventeenth century, first in Europe, then (until today) in the whole of the world.

Domaines: Droit

Jean-Louis Halpérin. What is Revolutionary in the Legal Construction of Modern States?. Five Legal Revolutions Since the 17th Century, , pp.1-34, 2014, 978-3-319-05887-0. ⟨10.1007/978-3-319-05888-7_1⟩. ⟨halshs-03279845⟩