La pensée constitutionnelle du juge Pierre-Basile Mignault

Comme juge de la Cour suprême du Canada de 1918 à 1929, Pierre-Basile Mignault a participé à 50 décisions constitutionnelles. C'est de cette jurisprudence que l'auteur dégage la pensée constitutionnelle de ce célèbre civiliste. La première partie de l'article expose la « manière » du juge Mignault. Cela permet d'éviter de tirer des conclusions trop ambitieuses à partir du corpus examiné. En effet, la jurisprudence constitutionnelle de Mignault se caractérise par la retenue judiciaire et par une grande fidélité au Conseil privé. Par contre, ses décisions ne se situent pas exclusivement sur un plan technique. Elles permettent souvent de déceler les valeurs qui l'animent ainsi que son souci de réalisme et d'équité. Sur le fond, trois caractéristiques de la pensée constitutionnelle de Mignault sont exposées dans la seconde partie. D'abord, Mignault se distingue par le respect qu'il accorde aux pouvoirs politiques et, en particulier, aux choix du législateur. Ensuite, il ressort de la jurisprudence de la Cour suprême de l'époque que Mignault était particulièrement généreux à l'égard du pouvoir central. Toutefois, sa conception du partage des compétences n'en était pas nécessairement déséquilibrée : il rejetait clairement toute définition statique et toute répartition étanche des pouvoirs, au profit d'une approche où la concurrence dynamique des deux ordres de gouvernement devait maintenir l'équilibre entre eux. En conclusion, l'auteur suggère qu'il ne suffit pas de se référer aux modèles anglo-américains de comportement judiciaire pour évaluer la contribution de Mignault. En effet, celui-ci a vraisemblablement été influencé, même en matière constitutionnelle, par la tradition judiciaire française, où le juge n'occupe pas la place centrale qui lui est dévolue dans les systèmes de common law.Pierre-Basile Mignault was on the bench of the Supreme Court of Canada, from 1918 to 1929, for 50 constitutional cases. The resulting jurisprudence is used in this article to illustrate the constitutional thinking of that famed civil law jurist. The first part is devoted to judge Mignault's « manner ». It indicates that the conclusions reached from his jurisprudence should not be overgrown. This is because Mignault's constitutional jurisprudence is characterized by judicial restraint and by a special loyalty toward the Privy Council. His decisions, however, go beyond legal technicalities. They often reveal the values he cherished and his striving for realism and equity. The second part deals with the substance of Mignault's constitutional thinking and underlines three of its characteristics. First, Mignault is conspicuous for his deference towards the political branches of the State and, in particular, towards legislative policies. Second, Mignault proved to be one of the juges of the Supreme Court who most strongly favoured the federal government. However, his conception of the distribution of powers remained generally balanced: this is because he clearly rejected static definitions in the matter and watertight compartments and because he believed balance could be gained through a dynamic competition between the federal government and the provinces. In conclusion, it is suggested that one should go beyond anglo-american models of judicial behaviour to appreciate Mignault's work at the Supreme Court. Even in constitutional matters, Mignault was likely prompted by the French judicial tradition, wherein judges do not stand on the same pinnacle as in common law systems

Vulcanism and Prehistory in the massif central of France : Future Prospects for Sustainable Development of Rural Highlands

If recent huge projects in Auvergne, as Vulcania near Clermont-Ferrand for example, try to use vulcanism as a matter of sustainable local development, attracting either seasonal touristic flow or all-year academic activities, the remote highlands of Velay begin to discover that archaeology and vulcanism make an original combination to increase interest of populations and can be a key for sustainable rural development.volcanisme;archéologie;développement local;développement durable;Massif central;Haute-Loire

Sur des problèmes d\u27asservissements stratigraphiques

On expose les difficultés d'ordre mathématique que posent des modèles récents de sédimentation-érosion de bassins élaborés par l'Institut Français du Pétrole et fondés sur la prise en compte de diverses contraintes d'unilatéralité. On présente quelques résultats partiels théoriques et des directions de recherche pour la résolution d'un problème inverse posé par l'étude stratigraphique d'une colonne monolithologique

Experimental characterization and modelling of a cavitating centrifugal pump operating in fast start-up conditions

The start-up of rocket engine turbopumps is generally performed only in a few seconds. It implies that these pumps reach their nominal operating conditions after only a few rotations. During these first rotations of the blades, the flow evolution in the pump is governed by transient phenomena, based mainly on the flow rate and rotation speed evolution. These phenomena progressively become negligible when the steady behavior is reached. The pump transient behaviour induces significant pressure fluctuations which may result in partial flow vaporization, i.e. cavitation. An existing experimental test rig has been updated in the LML laboratory (Lille, France) for the start-ups of a centrifugal pump. The study focuses on cavitation induced during the pump start-up. Instantaneous measurement of torque, flow rate, inlet and outlet unsteady pressures, and pump rotation velocity enable to characterize the pump behaviour during rapid starting periods. Three different types of fast start-up behaviours have been identified and have been presented at ISROMAC 12 (Duplaa et al, 2008). According to the final operating point, the start-up is characterized either by a single drop of the delivery static pressure, by several low-frequency drops, or by a water hammer phenomenon that can be observed both a the inlet and outlet of the pump. A physical analysis to explain these three different types of transient flow behaviour has been recently proposed (Duplaa et al, 2010). In the present paper, a modelling of the fast start ups in cavitating conditions is proposed. It consists of a two steps adaptation of fast start-up model in non cavitating conditions proposed by Dazin et al (2007). For that, fast X-rays imaging has been performed in the impeller with the collaboration of the French Atomic Agency (CEA) in order to determinate the high frequency evolution of the volume fraction during fast the start-ups. Although the results of the modelling presented here are not definitive, they are very promising

Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Unforced unsteadiness in a Vaneless Radial Diffuser

The paper reports combined experimental and numerical investigations of unforced un- steadiness in a vaneless radial diffuser. Experimental data were obtained within the diffuser using stereoscopic time resolved Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) recording three velocity components in a plane (2D/3C), coupled with unsteady pressure transducers. To characterize the inception and the evolution of the unsteady phenomena, spectral analyses of the pressure signals were carried out both in frequency and time-frequency domains and the PIV results were post processed by an original averaging method. Two partial flow rates were investigated in detail in this paper. A single unforced unsteadiness was identified for the lowest flow rate, whereas, two competitive intermittent modes were recognized for the higher mass flow. Numerical analyses were carried out on the same pump by the commercial code CFX. All the computations were performed using the unsteady transient model and the turbulence was modelled by the Scale-Adaptive Simulation (SAS) model. Numerical pressure signals were compared with the experimental data to verify the development of the same pressure fluctua- tions

Vote municipal et orientations partisanes à Boulogne-Billancourt (1965)

Vote municipal et orientations partisanes à Boulogne-Billancourt (1965), par Gérard Grunberg et Guy Michelat Une opinion couramment répandue est que les déterminants du vote municipal sont d'une nature différente de ceux des votes aux élections nationales (législatives et présidentielles). Cet article se propose de montrer que cette opinion manque de fondements solides. En construisant un indice mesurant l'orientation partisane des électeurs de Boulogne-Billancourt à partir de réponses à des questions de sondage relatives aux comportements électoraux et aux préférences partisanes, il a été possible de vérifier que le vote municipal est en relation étroite avec les autres comportements politiques observés. Il apparaît que le vote municipal est un bon indicateur du degré de participation des individus à la vie politique ainsi que de l'intensité de leurs convictions politiques et partisanes. [Revue française de science politique XXIII (5), octobre 1973, pp. 994-1019.]THE MUNICIPAL VOTE AND PARTISAN ORIENTATIONS IN BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT 1965 RARD GRUNBERG et GUY MICHELAT According to view which is generally widely held the factors that determine the municipal vote are different from those that determine voting in national elections parliamentary and presidential The aim of this article is to show that this is view lacking any basis in reality By drawing up an index which measures the partisan orientation of voters in Boulogne-Billancourt by means of replies to survey questions concerning electoral behaviour and partisan preferences it was possible to ascertain that the municipal vote is closely linked with other observed aspects of political behaviour It would appear that the municipal vote is good indicator of the extent to which individuals parti cipate in political life as well as of the intensity of their political and partisan convictions Revue fran aise de science politique XXIII 5) octobre 1973 pp 994-1019