Henri Capitant

Capitant pursued an ideal of the unity of legal education, jurisprudence and legislation.

A declared conservative, he objected to legal innovation, which he saw as generally threatening to a purpose of law – the preservation of individual liberty.

Convinced that French law represented the highest degree of legal culture, Capitant founded the Association des juristes de langue française in 1935, which was renamed upon his death to Association Henri Capitant pour la Culture Juridique Française and then to Association Henri Capitant des Amis de la Culture Juridique Française.

Partially subsidised by the French government, the Association publishes studies and organises scientific conferences.

The Association's presidents have been Henri Capitant, Jacques Charpentier, Robert Le Balle, Roger Houin, Philippe Malinvaud and Michel Grimaldi.