Les Traités D’Utrecht Et La Hiérarchie Des Normes (The Treaties of Utrecht and the Hierarchy of Norms)

Shorter version to be published in: N. Laurent-Bonne & X. Prevost (dir), Penser l'ordre juridique médiéval et moderne, vol. 1 [Contextes - Culture du droit, ed. A.-S. Chambost]. Paris: Lextenso, Forthcoming

21 Pages Posted: 10 Jun 2016

See all articles by Frederik Dhondt

Frederik Dhondt

Research Group CORE (Contextual Research in Law); Legal History Institute/Gustave Rolin Jaequemyns Institute of International Law (GRILI)

Date Written: June 6, 2016

Abstract

French Abstract: L’enregistrement des lettres patentes de Louis XIV contenant la renonciation de Philippe V d’Espagne au trône de France et des ducs de Berry et d’Orléans au trône d’Espagne, le 15 mars 1713, est généralement présenté comme une violation de la loi fondamentale d’indisponibilité de la couronne. Si la question a suscité le débat interne en France, il importe cependant d’impliquer la logique juridique pratique des relations internationales. Les renonciations étaient un élément vital de l’équilibre européen et permettaient d’éviter des concentrations excessives de pouvoir. La diplomatie de la Régence s’appliquait même à élargir les solutions des traités d’Utrecht (11 avril 1713) à d’autres cas de guerre potentiels en Italie. Ainsi, l’analyse de la querelle autour des renonciations comporte deux conflits de normes au lieu d’un seul. D’une part, le conflit entre les lettres patentes du monarque et les lois fondamentales. De l’autre, l’opposition entre le droit des traités et les normes internes. Non seulement la négociation des traités de paix, mais également leur interprétation subséquente révèlent un discours juridique pratique alternatif ou apocryphe, mais cohérent. Ce dernier est indispensable à une compréhension globale de la question.

English Abstract: The act of registration of the lettres patentes of Louis XIV on 15 March 1713, which renounced Philip V’s right to the throne of France and also the rights of the dukes of Berry and Orléans to the throne of Spain, is usually presented as a violation of the fundamental law of indisposability of the Crown. Even with internal implications for France and ensuing contemporary debate that was framed in those terms, it is nonetheless important to highlight its practical juristic logic with regard to international relations. Renunciations marked a vital element in the equilibrium of European state relations and they allowed to avoid excessive concentration of power. The Regency’s diplomacy sought to extend the solutions contained within the Utrecht treaties (11 April 1713) to other cases of potential war, in Italy. As a result, the mentioned registration of renunciation touched upon two conflicts of norms instead of one. On the one hand, the monarch’s lettres patentes conflicted with the lois fondamentales. On the other hand, the law of treaties was at odds with the internal laws of France. Not only the negotiations leading up to the peace treaties, but also the subsequent interpretation of those treaties demonstrate an alternative, apocryphal but coherent, juristic discourse, the understanding of which is indispensable for a proper analysis of their global implications.

Note: Downloadable document is in French.

Keywords: Legal History, International Law, Diplomatic History

JEL Classification: K33, N43, B31

Suggested Citation

Dhondt, Frederik, Les Traités D’Utrecht Et La Hiérarchie Des Normes (The Treaties of Utrecht and the Hierarchy of Norms) (June 6, 2016). Shorter version to be published in: N. Laurent-Bonne & X. Prevost (dir), Penser l'ordre juridique médiéval et moderne, vol. 1 [Contextes - Culture du droit, ed. A.-S. Chambost]. Paris: Lextenso, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2790983 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2790983

Frederik Dhondt (Contact Author)

Research Group CORE (Contextual Research in Law) ( email )

Pleinlaan 2
Brussels, Brussels 1050
Belgium
003226291883 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.vub.be/CORE

Legal History Institute/Gustave Rolin Jaequemyns Institute of International Law (GRILI) ( email )

Universiteitstraat 4
Gent, East Flanders 9000
Belgium
003292649713 (Phone)
003292646707 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.rechtsgeschiedenis.be

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