PORTALIS

Portalis, “Discours préliminaire sur le projet de code civil français”, dans //Naissance du code civil: la raison du législateur//, Paris, Flammarion, 1989. - aim of Code: tout simplifier and tout prévoir – both of these are impossible goals, really à we don’t want useless laws, but in a big state (both agricultural and commercial, with many different kinds of industry), we need more laws than a poor or reduced society à look at history of Rome’s legislation: at a certain point, have to distinguish written from non-written law à despotic states have more juges & bourreaux than laws, but where citizens are free, have political and civil rights, have property to protect etc., then certain # of laws is needed à laws can never entirely replace the use of natural reason in life, the course of time à “Une foule de choses sont … nécessairement abandonees à l’empire de l’usage, à la discussion des homes instruits, à l’arbitrage des juges” - job is to fix general maxims of the law, establish principles, not to go into great detail - **the role of jurisprudence** (legislator must keep it in mind): “c’est à la jurisprudence que nous abandonnons les cas rares et extraordinaires” “Les codes des peuples //se font avec le temps//; mais, à proprement parler, //on ne les fait pas//.”
 * __ - cannot simplify everything: __**
 * __ - cannot //prévoir// & //régler// everything __**