On Racine’s The Litigants

Authors

  • Claude Witz Universität des Saarlandes
  • Martin Hlawon Saarland University

Keywords:

Plaideurs, The Litigants, Jean Racine, Satire, Farce, Los litigantes, sátira, comedia

Abstract

French tragedian Jean Racine’s only comedy The Litigants (1668) is a theatrical caricature of the people of the law and of legal procedure at the time when Louis XIV’s councillor Colbert was undertaking important reforms of the judicial system. Litigious claimants, a maniac judge, a masochistic bailiff and loquacious lawyers all concur in the frantic display of a justice drowned in formalities and the pursuit of individual interests. The study of this play reminds us of the importance of constant efforts to reduce the complexity of legal procedure.

Los litigantes (1668), la única comedia del dramaturgo francés Jean Racine, es una caricatura teatral del mundo del derecho y el procedimiento legal de la época en la que Colbert, canciller de Luis XIV, impulsó importantes reformas del sistema judicial. Demandantes litigiosos, un juez maníaco, un agente judicial masoquista y abogados locuaces coinciden en una exhibición frenética en la que la justicia se muestra ahogada en formalidades y la búsqueda de intereses individuales. El estudio de esta obra nos recuerda la importancia de los esfuerzos constantes para reducir la complejidad del procedimiento legal.

DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2543495

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Author Biographies

Claude Witz, Universität des Saarlandes

Claude Witz (Ph.D. University of Strasbourg, 1979) is Professor of Law at the University of Strasbourg, and delegated to Saarland University, where he is the Chair of French Private Law and Co-director of the Franco-German Legal Center.

Martin Hlawon, Saarland University

Martin Hlawon (LL.M., Saarland University, 2014; German Bar Exam, 2010; Diplom-Jurist, LMU Munich, 2008; Maîtrise en droit, Panthéon-Assas University Paris, 2004) is research assistant at the Chair of French Private Law at Saarland University.

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How to Cite

Witz, C. and Hlawon, M. (2014) “On Racine’s The Litigants”, Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 4(6), pp. 1143–1155. Available at: https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/361 (Accessed: 25 April 2024).

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 6 (2014): Justice in Literature: New Perspectives on European Legal Culture

Section

Part I: Classic authors

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