GW Law Announces Winner of the First Richard & Diane Cummins Legal History Research Grant
Michel Morin of the Université de Montréal Will Use Rare Library Collection to Study Historical French Laws
Jan 31, 2012
WASHINGTON—The George Washington University Law School today announced Michel Morin as the winner of the first annual Richard & Diane Cummins Legal History Research Grant. The Cummins Grant provides a $10,000 stipend to support short-term historical research using the Special Collections Department at GW’s Jacob Burns Law Library.
Professor Morin, a professor of the law faculty at the Université de Montréal, will use the collection to investigate the elimination of lay law-finders from the adjudicatory process in France during the Ancien Regime, i.e., prior to the French Revolution. Under early French law, a royal judge had to name respectable men of the relevant area who would explain any local non-written customary law to him. Over the centuries, this practice declined until laypeople were no longer involved in the process.
“It is a great honour for me to be the first recipient of the Richard & Diane Cummins Legal History Research Grant. I have been teaching and researching for many years the history of both French and Quebec Law, so this will be an exceptional opportunity to explore further issues,” said Professor Morin. “The Special Collections of the Jacob Burns Law Library, with its outstanding collection of early manuscripts and pre-19th century French law books, is the perfect location to undertake this research. I feel privileged to be given access to these marvels and look forward to being part of the George Washington Law School’s community of scholars and students.”
During his visit, Professor Morin will deliver a presentation to the GW Law faculty on his research, and at the conclusion of the visit, he will submit a summary of the research
“The Burns Law Library, with its extensive holdings of French legal works from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, is one of the few locations in North America that can provide Professor Morin with the resources he needs to investigate how this change came about. His research is important not only for developing a history of French law, but as a comparison to the Anglo-American jury system,” said Associate Dean for Information Services and Director of the Law Library Scott Pagel. “As intended by Richard and Diane Cummins when they established the Cummins Grant, the presence of Professor Morin also will help publicize the unique legal research collections available at the Jacob Burns Law Library and reinforce the image of the George Washington University Law School as one of the leading research institutions in the United States.”
Mr. Morin holds a Bachelor in Law from the Université de Montréal and a master’s degree in economics from l’Université du Québec à Montréal. From 1986 to 2003, he was a professor at the Civil Law Section, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa. His research and teaching focuses on comparative legal history of public or private law, the evolution of the rights of Aboriginal peoples and comparative law in general. In 1998, the Humanities and Social Sciences Federation awarded him the Jean-Charles Falardeau prize for his book L’Usurpation de la souveraineté autochtone (The Usurpation of Aboriginal Sovereignty, Montreal, Boréal). In 2004, he published Introduction historique au droit romain, au droit français et au droit anglais (Historical introduction to Roman, French and English Law, Montreal, Éditions Thémis).
About the Special Collections Department
The Special Collections Department of the Jacob Burns Law Library preserves more than 35,000 important legal works from the fifteenth through nineteenth centuries. Its French Collection is one of the largest assemblages of early French law in the United States. The Incunabula Collection comprises more than 120 titles. Other significant areas of the collection include church-state relations, Roman and canon law, international law, and early American statutes and practitioner guides. The library is noted for its continental historical legal collections, especially its French collection, with strengths in Roman and canon law, church-state relations, international law and many incunabula holdings.
About GW Law
The George Washington University Law School, long recognized as one of the top law schools in the country, pursues a distinctive research and learning mission that engages the leading law and policy questions of our time and provides students with an education that will position them to help change the world. Accredited by the American Bar Association and a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools, the Law School was founded in 1865 and was the first law school in the District of Columbia.
For more information on the special collections at GW’s Jacob Burns Law Library, visit
http://www.law.gwu.edu/Library/Special_Collections/Pages/Default.aspx
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Angela Olson - 202-994-3087 - olsona@gwu.edu
Laura Ewald Ours - 202-994-5609 - lewald@gwu.edu
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