Entre doctrine et nécessité : l’œuvre législative de la monarchie absolue en Grèce (1833-1843)

Abstract

The crowning of Othon 1st in the newly independent Greece devastated by years of hardship in its long struggle for its freedom from the Ottoman rule, inaugurated a period of extensive legal reforms. Initiated under the expert advice of Georg Ludwig von Maurer, professor in the Munich Law School, the reforms mixed the necessity to reinforce the institutions of an absolutist monarchy with modern legal provisions inspired by the French and German legal systems. These changes reflected the reformers’ efforts to unify, modernize and rationalize the various components of a fragmented legal system and to align Greek laws with those of more advanced Western European states. However, private law reforms had to take into account the expectations of a Greek population still attached to its traditions and its culture. The provisional adoption of the Hexabiblos and the confirmation of local customs initially eased the transitional process but eventually postponed the codification project to a later period. In this regard, the Greek experience is a good illustration of the various challenges raised by legal transplants and the formation of a new legal culture.