Claude Du Pasquier, Introduction à la théorie générale et à la philosophie du droit, Paris/Neuchâtel: Recueil Sirey/Éditions Delachaux & Niestlé, 1937.
Introduction/Historical Situation and Systematic Context
Before the Second World War, one can speak of a confusion in the domain of legal philosophy, indeed, in Germany as well as in France. In French-speaking countries, the so-called institutional theory of law and of the State has widely been adopted, lead by Maurice-Jean-Claude-Eugène Hauriou, and later by Georges Renard (see Albert Broderick (Ed.): The French Institutionalists – Maurice Hauriou, Georges Renard, Joseph T. Delos. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1970). Concerning the interpretation and application of the legal order, the theory of François Gény have had considerable success.
Content, Abstracts/Conclusions, Insights, Evidence
As a representative of legal philosophy in Franch-speaking Switzerland, Claude Du Pasquier is not only embedded in this culture, but also tributes to his German-speaking colleagues Eugen Huber and Walther Burckhardt among others. He even adopts their theories widely, but with remarkable differences in detail and in argumentation: the legal order is situated within social and legal community, the system of the sources of the law enlarged, the application of the law taken into consideration, and so on…
In contrast there are parts where the author deals with logics, rather than with methodological questions, or determines the nature of law, including an extensively presented history of natural law theories. The considerable introduction to jurisprudence and legal philosophy resembles an accumulation of diverse and inconsistent contributions, held together only by the half-leather French binding between the antique book covers.
As a suggestion to read, in order to form a well informed judgment on this writing by Claude Du Pasquier, we have selected the final passage containing the conclusions. That is where the intrinsic system should appear, if ever. Not regarding the bibliographical references in the text and in the footnotes, the undercurrent and unconscious popular philosophy that characterises the argumentation is based on common sense realism, common sense pragmatic thoughts as well as on dogmatical distinctions and dualistic concepts in a remarkable degree. Dualism occurs to be the main philosophical ingredient for this potpourri in period legal thought. Nevertheless, it is instructive to read, anyway.
Selected Works of the Same Author
Claude Du Pasquier: Modernisme judiciaire et jurisprudence suisse, in: Recueil de travaux offert par la Faculté de Droit de l’Université de Neuchâtel à la Société des Juristes, Neuchâtel: Paul Attinger, 1929; Idem: Vue d’ensemble sur les conceptions de l’État – La neutralité morale de l’État, in: Recueil de Travaux publié par la Faculté de l’Université de Neuchâtel à l’occasion du Centenaire de la Fondation de l’Académie 1838-1938, Paris: Recueil Sirey, 1938; Idem: Valeur et nature de l’enseignement juridique (Mémoires publiés par la Faculté de Droit de l’Université de Genève, vol. 7), Genève: Librairie de l’Université, 1950; Idem: La notion de justice sociale et son influence sur le droit suisse, in: Zeitschrift für schweizerisches Recht, Centenarium 1852-1952, pp. 69 ss., Basel: Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 1952; Idem: Essai sur la nature juridique du faux en écriture, Lausanne: A. Jaunin, 1909.