Paul Huvelin
Encyclopedia
Paul Huvelin was a French legal historian
and specialist in the study of the earliest forms of Roman law
.
Huvelin spent almost all his career teaching in the law faculty of the University of Lyon
which he joined in 1899. That year he made contact with the anthropologist Marcel Mauss
and, as a result, gradually became involved with the group of pioneer French sociologists organised by Mauss' uncle Emile Durkheim
. Huvelin, as a respected jurist, was welcomed into the Durkheim group and contributed regularly to Durkheim's famous L'Année Sociologique
yearbook, from its sixth volume, published in 1906, until the series was suspended on the outbreak of the First World War. Huvelin made important contributions to the sociological study of the earliest forms of Western law
. His imaginative if sometimes speculative scholarship explored links between magic and the emergence of ideas of private rights. He also tried to reformulate Durkheim's own ideas of law to make them more compatible with the instrumental legal outlook of jurists.
Towards the end of his life he became involved with efforts to shore up waning French influence in the Middle East
. As an offshoot of the Lyon law faculty's involvement with legal education in territories associated with France, he was instrumental in the founding of the law school of the Université Saint-Joseph
in Beirut
in 1913. In 1919 he led a mission to Syria
to assess the growing threats to French interests in the region. He died after a short illness in 1924.
A street in Beirut, is named after him, the Rue Huvelin
.
Legal history
Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilizations and is set in the wider context of social history...
and specialist in the study of the earliest forms 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...
.
Huvelin spent almost all his career teaching in the law faculty of the University of Lyon
University of Lyon
The University of Lyon , located in Lyon and Saint Etienne, France, is a center for higher education and research comprising 16 institutions of higher education...
which he joined in 1899. That year he made contact with the anthropologist Marcel Mauss
Marcel Mauss
Marcel Mauss was a French sociologist. The nephew of Émile Durkheim, Mauss' academic work traversed the boundaries between sociology and anthropology...
and, as a result, gradually became involved with the group of pioneer French sociologists organised by Mauss' uncle Emile Durkheim
Émile Durkheim
David Émile Durkheim was a French sociologist. He formally established the academic discipline and, with Karl Marx and Max Weber, is commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science and father of sociology.Much of Durkheim's work was concerned with how societies could maintain...
. Huvelin, as a respected jurist, was welcomed into the Durkheim group and contributed regularly to Durkheim's famous L'Année Sociologique
L'Année Sociologique
L'Année Sociologique is a sociology journal founded in 1898 by Émile Durkheim, who also served as its editor. It was published annually until 1925, and returned to publication as Annales Sociologiques between 1934 and 1942...
yearbook, from its sixth volume, published in 1906, until the series was suspended on the outbreak of the First World War. Huvelin made important contributions to the sociological study of the earliest forms of Western law
Western law
Western law refers to the legal traditions of Western culture. Western culture has an idea of the importance of law which has its roots in both Roman law and the Bible...
. His imaginative if sometimes speculative scholarship explored links between magic and the emergence of ideas of private rights. He also tried to reformulate Durkheim's own ideas of law to make them more compatible with the instrumental legal outlook of jurists.
Towards the end of his life he became involved with efforts to shore up waning French influence in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
. As an offshoot of the Lyon law faculty's involvement with legal education in territories associated with France, he was instrumental in the founding of the law school of the Université Saint-Joseph
Université Saint-Joseph
Saint Joseph University is a private Catholic higher institute of education founded by the Jesuits in 1875 in Beirut, Lebanon, known for its school of medicine and its hospital, Hôtel-Dieu de France. The Lebanese state officially recognizes the university and the diplomas it grants in accord with...
in Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
in 1913. In 1919 he led a mission to Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
to assess the growing threats to French interests in the region. He died after a short illness in 1924.
A street in Beirut, is named after him, the Rue Huvelin
Rue Huvelin
Rue Huvelin , is a street located east of Beirut Central District in the neighborhood of Achrafieh. The street is named after Paul Huvelin, a French legal historian who founded the law school of the Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut in 1913...
.