“Justice lies in the formalities”: from eulogy of judicial forms to the origins of due process of law in French Ancien Régime’s procedural doctrine (XVIth-XVIIIth centuries)

Abstract

Legal doctrine in French Ancien Régime exposes, systematically, the importance of legal forms in justice administration. The idea that legal forms shall be respected is related either to the achievement of judicial truth or to the guarantee of individual liberties. Moreover, the discourse about respect due to judicial forms can be identified in the “traditional” sources (the procedural legal doctrine and the magistracy) as well as in reformist figures of the Enlightenment movement. These research assesses the semantic changes that foreshadow what will be called the "due process of law" as a subjective right, despite the continuity of the political regime, the discourses about the procedure, and the legal norms.

Enviado el (Submission Date): 09/02/2022
Aceptado el (Acceptance Date): 22/04/2022