Pro Memorie - Volume 25, Issue 2, 2023

Abstract In the archives of the (Sovereign) Council of Brabant, 26 packets designated as Motifs have been handed down. The Motifs occur in French and Flemish, although Latin was prescribed. From the year 1744 onwards, they can be referred to as a series. They appear incomplete, because Motifs can also be found in the litigation files, sometimes from only one party. In these secret Motifs, parties state the legal framework o Read More

Abstract Inspired by the socio-political debate on the COVID-19 vaccination policy, this contribution examines the legal-historical developments of the Dutch vaccination policy from the 18th to 20th century, in particular regarding the use of pressure and coercion. An important observation that follows from this contribution is that discussions regarding the use of pressure and coercion in the vaccination policy, particularly the arg Read More

Abstract Jan Ackersdijck (1790-1861) read law at Utrecht University (1806-1810), came to practice law for some 15 years, but was attracted to empirical research in historical and statistical economy, rather than to more abstract positivist legal methodologies. Called to chairs in political history, economy and statistics (at the law schools) in Liege (1825-1830) and Utrecht (1831-1860), he came to advocate empirical resea Read More

Abstract Dutch judicial officers are public officials who also perform commercial debt collection work. This has been the case since the first Dutch regulations from 1838. These regulations lagged behind other professional groups and surrounding countries. Hendrik van Horrik, a candidate and aspiring judicial officer, made a proposal for a legal regulation in 1919, which partly relied on ancient statutory French law. This proposal Read More

Abstract A preliminary examination of the bronze sculpture, De redenaar (The Orator), created by Ghent sculptor George Minne (1866-1941), inevitably draws attention to the unusual pose of the male figure. Upon closer inspection, De redenaar reveals a profound sense of introspection – a recurring theme in Minne’s oeuvre. While the sculpture shares resemblances with a lawyer, the question of whether it effectively repres Read More