Charles Aubry
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "For". Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Charles Aubry (1803–1883) was a French jurist. He taught law at Strasbourg from 1833 to 1871 and was a judge on the Cour de Cassation from 1872 to 1878.
He was made famous in French legal circles by his only publication, together with Frédéric Charles Rau, the Cours de droit civil français (1839–46). This first systematic synthesis of French civil law abandoned the structure of the Code civil. It introduced, among others, German legal notions such as rules of evidence as well as theories of joint property and vindication to French law. Originally a translation of Karl-Salomon Zachariä's Handbuch des französischen Civilrechts, the work became increasingly independent from its German template, being republished as late as 1964–73 in an incomplete 7th edition.
Biography
He obtained his law degree in 1822 and his thesis in 1826. He taught law in University of Strasbourg from 1830 to 1870 and was a judge at the Court of Cassation (France) from 1870 to 1878.
During the Second French Empire, Aubry was considered a “citizen sincerely devoted to the Government”, and he described himself as a “very good Catholic” whose teaching was “illuminated by the gentle light of a religious philosophy”. He was even entrusted with the post of Dean of the Faculty of Strasbourg from 1851 to 1870, and when the predominantly Protestant Alsace complained that he “inclined towards a clerical party, hostile to the University and to Protestantism”, the rectorate replied that “his religious ideas did not lead to intolerance” and that his closest friend was Professor Rau, himself a Protestant.
He collaborated with Charles-Frédéric Rau, whose work is considered the meeting of the Latin and Germanic spirit. Aubry, seeking to bring the mind to fruition through reasoning, and Rau, always in favor of finding practical meaning in theoretical reasoning. The two jurists, strong in spirit and complicity, embarked on a sustained literary career. In 1838, they published for the first time their major work, which was published several times: Cours de droit civil français, translated from the German by M.C.S. Zachariae.[1] Considered a mere translation, the third edition reflects the contributions of both authors, and is entitled Cours de droit civil d'après la méthode de Zachariae (1869 to 1877), after which it abandons all reference to Zachariae.
Aubry and Rau, admired for their language and legal skills, have become much less widely read over the last twenty years, due to their excessive conciseness, technicality and abstraction. Their authority is gradually declining, after having been the greatest glory of French legal literature.
He is also best known for having adapted from German, in collaboration with Charles-Frédéric Rau,Karl Salomo Zachariae von Lingenthal Handbuch des französischen Civilrechts (Cours de droit civil français), originally published in three volumes between 1837 and 1847. The seventh edition appeared between 1964 and 1973.
In civil law, the work known as “Aubry et Rau” is still the authority. An amphitheatre at Strasbourg's Faculty of Law bears this name. In the Quartier des XV, a street - rue Aubry et Rau - is named after the two jurists.
Bibliography
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References
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