Prface / Preface
Les Journes louisianaises de lAssociation Henri Capitant des amis de la culture
juridique franaise ont eu lieu du 18 au 23 mai 2008 Bton-Rouge et la Nouvelle-
Orlans. Sous le thme droit et culture, le congrs a rassembl des juristes civilistes
de divers horizons. La Revue de droit de McGill est heureuse de publier au sein de ce
numro des versions remanies des rapports qubcois qui y ont t prsents,
rvlant chacun des aspects distinctifs de la culture juridique qubcoise dans
diffrents domaines du droit.
Adrian Popovici retrace les origines mixtes du droit civil qubcois et dresse le
portrait des influences traversant la culture juridique qubcoise moderne par le
truchement des grands concepts la dfinissant.
Ghislain Otis tudie de manire critique limportance des langues et des cultures
juridiques autochtones dans trois rcents accords dautonomie gouvernementale. Il
sinterroge sur la porte du pluralisme juridique ainsi institu et espre voir une
revitalisation des langues autochtones, qui sont essentielles la transmission de la
culture de ces peuples.
Benot Moore traite de lvolution de la conception juridique de la famille en
droit qubcois. Institutionnalise dans le Code civil du Bas Canada, la conception
traditionnelle na pas rsist lclatement des rfrents religieux et sociaux qui ont
marqu le vingtime sicle. La scularisation de la famille et la diversit religieuse,
ainsi que la monte de lgalit comme valeur fondamentale et lessor de lautonomie
individuelle, redfinissent aujourdhui en profondeur les rapports conjugaux et filiaux.
Daniel Jutras aborde linfluence de la culture au sein du droit processuel, prenant
appui sur la rcente rforme du Code de procdure civile du Qubec. cette fin, il
expose successivement la culture politique rsolument nord-amricaine de la
procdure civile qubcoise, la culture professionnelle judiciaire et la culture
normative arrimant le droit processuel au droit substantif qubcois.
Jean-Luc Bilodeau analyse limpact du fdralisme, du bijuridisme et du
bilinguisme en tant que clivages caractristiques de la socit canadienne sur les
habitudes de crdit, le recours aux institutions de financement et la propension la
faillite des citoyens canadiens. Il compare les statistiques qubcoises avec celles du
reste du Canada et estime que les diffrences de comportement sexpliquent par
linteraction de motifs juridiques, historiques et culturels.
une poque o la diversit culturelle et la richesse des systmes juridiques
semblent parfois menaces par la tendance mondiale luniformisation des droits
nationaux, il est particulirement opportun de se pencher sur les relations entre le
droit et la culture. Si les juridictions civilistes partagent les mmes racines, des
diffrences culturelles viennent teinter leurs droits respectifs, tel que le dmontrent
ces cinq survols.
Erin Morgan, Rdactrice en chef
Sophie Tremblay, Rdactrice en chef adjointe
221
PRFACE PREFACE
2009]
The Association Henri Capitant des amis de la culture juridique franaise held
its international congress, les Journes louisianaises, from May 18th to May 23rd,
2008, in Baton Rouge and New Orleans. This event brought together civilian jurists
from diverse fields under the theme law and culture. The McGill Law Journal is
pleased to publish the revised texts of the reports from Quebec that were presented
there, each of which reveals distinctive aspects of Quebecs legal culture in a different
area of the law.
Adrian Popovici retraces the mixed origins of Quebecs civil law and describes
the influences underlying Quebecs modern legal culture in terms of its broad,
defining concepts.
Ghislain Otis critically analyzes the importance of Aboriginal languages and
Aboriginal legal cultures in three recent self-government agreements. He examines
the scope of the legal pluralism instituted in these agreements and expresses his hope
for a revitalization of Aboriginal languages, which are essential to the transmission of
culture.
Benot Moore considers the evolution of the legal conception of the family in
Quebec law. Institutionalized in the Civil Code of Lower Canada, the traditional
conception of the family did not withstand the breakdown of religious and social
frames of reference that marked the twentieth century. The secularization of the
family and religious diversity, as well as the rise of equality as a fundamental value
and the expansion of individual autonomy, have redefined conjugal and filial
relationships today.
Daniel Jutras examines the influence of culture on procedural law, building on the
recent reform of the Code of Civil Procedure of Quebec. To this end, he discusses the
decidedly North American political culture of Quebec civil procedure, the nature of
professional legal culture, and the normative culture that ties procedural law to
Quebecs substantive law.
Jean-Luc Bilodeau analyzes the impact of characteristic divisions in Canadian
societyfederalism, bijuralism, and bilingualismupon the credit patterns, recourse
to lending institutions, and propensity for bankruptcy of Canadian citizens. He
compares statistics from Quebec with those from the rest of Canada and hypothesizes
that the differences in behaviour can be explained by the interaction of legal,
historical, and cultural motives.
At a time when cultural diversity and the richness of legal systems may appear to
be menaced by the global tendency to harmonize national laws, it is particularly
appropriate to examine the relationship between the law and culture. While the
civilian jurisdictions share the same roots, their cultural differences have come to
influence their respective laws, as demonstrated in these five surveys.
Erin Morgan, Editor in Chief
Sophie Tremblay, Executive Editor
