Justice in wartime and revolutions : Europe, 1795-1950 = Justice en temps de guerre et révolution : Europe, 1795-1950

Abstract

War and revolutions are periods in history which generate transformations and social and political change of the judicial system. These transformations and changes are tangible at different levels. Judicial institutions and practices with a long history and tradition and which are deeply rooted in the polity are put into question: they are either abolished and replaced by other institutions or confronted with new competing foreign institutions, or they are forced to change their functions and practices. The contributions to this volume all explore, for various European countries, different aspects and facets of changes in the judicial system, changes in practices of justice administration, and changes in judicial personnel and judicial professions, as they occurred during the French Revolution, both World Wars, and their aftermaths. These contributions all show how times of war and revolutions bring about crucial transformations of the judiciary and its relation to society, both by accelerating innovation and modernization of judicial structures, actors and practices, and by producing temporary relapses (legal conflicts, purges of collaborators, the blurring of norms)