The First Expansion of Criminal Jury in France, The Netherlands and Belgium (1791-1815)
Research Question
Can popular justice perform the double function of maintaining public order and protecting individual liberties? Do juries have the competence and impartiality necessary to fulfil their role? Which classes of citizens should have the right to exercise these prerogatives?
Project Description
My research project proposes to examine the first expansion of the criminal jury in France, The Netherlands and Belgium from 1791 to 1815. Surprisingly, the historical study of the popular jury is an almost unexplored field even though issues directly related to it continue to dominate contemporary political and legal debates. The polemic regarding the merits and weaknesses of juries raises several fundamental questions: can popular justice perform the double function of maintaining public order and protecting individual liberties? Do juries have the competence and impartiality necessary to fulfil their role? Which classes of citizens should have the right to exercise these prerogatives? Such questions reappear at every regime change and affect legal cultures, the process of democratization and the professionalization of justice. The analysis of these different dimensions will allow us to identify the factors that helped or hindered the expansion of popular jury
Selected Publications
Emmanuel Berger (ed.), Police and Public Order in France and England (1750-1850), Crime, histoire & Sociétés/Crime, History & Societies, vol. 20, n°1, 2016
Emmanuel Berger, Emilie Delivré (eds.), Popular justice in Europe (18th-19th Centuries), Bologna/Berlin, Il Mulino/Duncker & Humblot, 2014.
Emmanuel Berger, Heinz-Gerhard Haupt (eds.), Popular Protest and Violence in 19 Century Europe. Perspectives from Current Historiography, European Review of History, vol. 20, n°6, 2013.