Robert Joseph Pothier (9 January 1699 to 2 March 1772) was a French jurist who served as judge of the Presidial Court of Orléans for fifty-two years after his appointment in 1720. He wrote scholarly treatises on Roman law, including the Pandectae Justinianae in novum ordinem digestae (1748 to 1752), as well as specialized works on French contract law covering obligations, sales, leases, partnerships and loans, published mainly between 1761 and 1770. Much of his work was incorporated almost textually into the French Code Civil, making him a foundational influence on the Napoleonic law reforms, and he devised a rule limiting recovery for improper performance of a contractual obligation to damages that were foreseeable, a principle that endures in contract law in England and the United States.
Facts
RoleJudge of the Presidial Court of Orléans, 1720-1772; professor of law at the University of Orléans from 1749 1 Nationality / Jurisdiction Place of Death Classification
Field of Law Role
Role (category) FAQs
Why do contract lawyers in England and the United States still cite Pothier?
His contract theories were influential in England and the United States.
Pothier was a French judge of the Presidial Court of Orléans, but his theories on the law of contract were influential in England as well as in the United States. One reason is a rule he devised that limits recovery for improper performance of a contractual obligation to the damages that are foreseeable, a principle that endures in contract law in both countries. His treatise on obligations, published in 1761, was also translated into English for American readers, first by François-Xavier Martin in 1802 and again by William David Evans in 1839.
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Sources
1. Robert Joseph Pothier (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead paragraph, first sentence
Robert Joseph Pothier (9 January 1699 - 2 March 1772) was a French jurist.
Life section, second sentence
He was born and died at Orléans.
Life section, third sentence
He studied law to qualify for the magistracy, and was appointed Judge in 1720 of the Presidial Court of Orléans, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.
In Legal System: French Legal System, Wikipedia lead sentence
was a French jurist
View the Source 2. Wikidata: Robert Joseph Pothier
Wikidata Q666880, P569 date of birth claim (year)
P569 (date of birth): 1699
Wikidata Q666880, P570 date of death claim (year)
P570 (date of death): 1772
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