Joseph Louis Elzear Ortolan

Background

He was born at Toulon on 21 August 1802.

Education

He studied law at Aix and Paris.

Career

He early made his name by two volumes, Explication historique des institutes de Juslinien (1827), and Histoire de la legislation romaine (1828), the first of which has been frequently republished. He was made assistant librarian to the court of cassation, and was promoted after the Revolution of 1830 to be secretary-general.

He was also commissioned to give a course of lectures at the Sorbonne on constitutional law, and in 1836 was appointed to the chair of comparative criminal law at the university of Paris.

He died in Paris, on the 27th of March 1873.

Achievements

• He published many works on constitutional and comparative law, of which the following may be mentioned: Histoire du droit conslitutionnel en Europe pendant le moyen dge (1831); Introduction historique au cows de legislation penale comparee (1841); he was the author of a volume of poetry Les enfantines (1845).