The English Fox in the Louisiana Civil Law Chausse- Trappe

The Louisiana Law Review has published The English Fox in the Louisiana Civil Law Chausse- Trappe: Civil Law Concepts in the English Language; Comparativists Beware!, 69 La Law Rev 715 (Summer 2009), an article, presented in the La. Law Rev. in English, based on an article by Professor Alain Levasseur, published in French in the January 2009 issue of the Revue Internationale de Droit Comparé (R.I.D.C.). The title of the Article in the R.I.D.C. is Les maux des mots en droit comparé. Professor Levasseur felt that this Article would be of interest to Louisiana lawyers and legal scholars and he asked Vicenç Feliú, because of Vicenç' background in Linguistics and the common law, to work with him in translating and redacting the original French article for publication in English.

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200 Years of Codification in Louisiana

The LSU International Law Society and the Center of Civil Law Studies are presenting a program to commemorate the bicentennial of the Digest of 1808. The program will take place on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 from 12:40 p.m. to 1:40 p.m in Room 110 of the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU. The speakers for the program will be Prof. Olivier Moréteau, Agustín Parise, and Vicenç Feliú. Prof. Moréteau will speak on Disseminating the Louisiana Experience: The Digest Online, Agustín Parise will speak on Exploring the World Wide Impact of the Louisiana Civil Codes, and Vicenç Feliú will speak on Discovering the Roots of the Digest of 1808.

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CLE - The Digest of 1808

The Law Library of Louisiana and the New Orleans Association of Law Libraries are sponsoring a CLE program to be held in the 4th Floor Conference Room of the Louisiana Supreme Court, 400 Royal Street, New Orleans, on Wednesday, 15 October, 2008, from 5:30 p.. until 6:30 p.m. The program will be a one hour CLE credit at no cost to LSBA members. It will be a presentation by Professor Alain Levasseur, Paul M. Hebert Law Center, LSU, and Vicenç Feliú, Associate Librarian for Foreign, Comparative, and Internatinal Law, Paul M. Hebert Law Center, LSU, discussing their new book; Moreau Lislet: The Man Behind the Digest of 1808. There will be a book signing and a wine and cheese reception directly after the presentation. RSVP to Georgia Chadwick, Director Law Library of Louisiana, at gchadwick@lasc.org or (504) 310-2402.



Georgia Chadwick, Director Law Library of Louisiana, Professor Alain Levasseur, LSU Law, Chief Justice Elect Kitty Kimball, Louisiana Supreme Court, and Vicenç Feliú, LSU Law, at the book signing held after the CLE.

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Digest of 1808 Online

On the occasion of the Bicentennial of the Louisiana Digest of 1808, The Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center’s Center for Civil Law Studies has published an electronic version of the Digest of the Civil Laws now in Force in the Territory of Orleans (enacted on March 31, 1808) on its Civil Law Online website at http://www.law.lsu.edu/civillawonline.

The Digest, described as the first Louisiana civil code, is now completely available online. The original French and the English translation can be viewed separately or together on the same screen. The typing of both versions was extracted from the first edition of 1808, printed by Bradford & Anderson, in the city of New Orleans. With the exception of obvious typos, the Digest Online strictly follows the original wording and orthography.

In addition, the manuscript notes of 1814, attributed to Louis Moreau-Lislet who, with James Brown, drafted the Digest, are available on this website. These notes are extracted from the De la Vergne Volume, a copy of the Digest bound in 1808 with interleaves between the English text on the left and the French text on the right. The manuscript notes on the interleaves give reference mainly to Roman and Spanish laws, but also mention French sources, such as Domat and Pothier (see the Foreword). This volume belonged to the de la Vergne family for generations, and is presently in possession of Mr. Louis V. de la Vergne. It was published by the LSU and Tulane law schools in 1968, and by Claitor's in 1971 and 2008. The right to reproduce the notes was generously provided to the Center of Civil Law Studies at LSU by Mr. Louis V. de la Vergne. The notes also appear for the first time in typed version, making them easily readable.

A search function will be added in the near future. It will allow thematic research, by word or combination of words, inside the French or the English version.

The Digest is freely available to scholars, students, practitioners, and laymen alike. The photographic reproduction of the manuscript notes may only be used for research or educational purposes. Please email ccls@law.lsu.edu for any question relating to the use of these documents.

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Bicentennial of the Louisiana Digest of 1808

(From the Center of Civil Law Studies, Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Newsletter, January 2008, No. 5)

In 2008, the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center commemorates the Bicentennial of the Louisiana Civil Code, marking the confirmed survival of the civil law in Louisiana after the 1803 Purchase. This was the first civil code, anywhere in the world, to be drafted in the wake of the Napoleonic codification. It still has a significant influence not only in the United States but also in Quebec, Latin America, and Spain.

The Civil Code of 1808 will be published online in May 2008, both in the original French and English translation, with the notes made by the drafters at the time. An added search function will make it an easily researchable source. The Code will be accessible to scholars, students, practitioners, and laymen alike, all over the world, whether their interest is law or culture in all its possible dimensions.

The unveiling of this historic project will occur during the Journées Capitant on Law and Culture, to take place in Baton Rouge and New Orleans from May 18^th through May 23^rd. This conference will be held in French by the Association Capitant des amis de la culture juridique française, and will attract more than one hundred participants from French speaking countries all around the world. Support has been obtained both for the publication of the Louisiana Civil Code online and the organization of the events from the Organisation internationale de la francophonie, and the World Organization of French Speaking Countries. The Consulate of France in New Orleans and the Ministry of Cooperation in Paris are also monitoring the event.

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Louisiana Civil Code Translated to Cantonese

Chinese legal scholar Lou Aihua has completed a translation of the Louisiana Civil Code to Cantonese. This translation will soon be available in print and the LSU Law Library will acquire a copy for its collection. If you are interested in this translation, you may contact the translator directly at aihua905warm@gmail.com.

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