Boissonade - Gustave Emile Boissonade de Fontarabie

A French legal scholar who made a major contribution to the formation of Japan's modern legal system. Born on June 7, 1825 in Vincennes, near Paris. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Paris and was registered as a lawyer at the Paris Court of Appeal in 1849. He passed the professor qualification exam in 1864 and taught Roman law at the University of Grenoble, and was selected as a qualified professor at the University of Paris in 1867. In 1873 (Meiji 6), while staying in Paris, he lectured on constitutional law and criminal law to Inoue Kowashi and other Ministry of Justice officials, which led to him being invited by the Meiji government and coming to Japan in November of the same year. During the 22 years he stayed in Japan, he made many contributions in many areas and achieved many accomplishments. First, from 1874, he lectured on French law and natural law at the Ministry of Justice Law School with the aim of training lawyers. He also devoted himself to legal education at the Imperial University, Tokyo Law School (later the Japanese-French Law School, now Hosei University), Meiji Law School (now Meiji University), and other early private law schools, educating many lawyers who, after graduating, went on to play an active role in legal code compilation, judicial practice, and legal education. He also served as an advisor to various government agencies, including the Senate, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Legislative Bureau, and provided advice and suggestions, as well as answering a wide range of questions. He was particularly instrumental in providing useful advice on the aftermath of the Taiwan Expedition in 1874 and the Jingo Rebellion in 1882, and contributed to diplomacy and treaty reform by submitting a letter of opposition to Foreign Minister Inoue Kaoru's proposal to appoint foreign judges in 1887. He also strongly appealed to the Minister of Justice to abolish torture, and worked hard to abolish the torture system. In his main task of compiling a legal code, he began drafting the Criminal Code and the Criminal Law from 1876, which, after deliberation in the Senate and other bodies, were published in 1880 and put into effect in 1882 as the Criminal Code (old Criminal Code) and the Criminal Law. He then began drafting the Civil Code from 1879, which, after deliberation in the Legal Investigation Committee, the Senate, the Privy Council and other bodies, was published in 1890 as the Civil Code (old Civil Code), but the implementation of the code was postponed as a result of a dispute over the code. He returned to France in 1895, and passed away on June 27, 1910, in Antibes in the south of France, at the age of 85.

[Aio Yoshii, August 21, 2018]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

日本の近代法体制の形成に大きな貢献をしたフランス人法学者。1825年6月7日パリ近郊のバンセンヌで生まれた。パリ大学法学部を卒業し、1849年パリ控訴院付弁護士に登録。1864年教授資格取得試験に合格し、グルノーブル大学でローマ法の講義を担当、1867年にパリ大学の教授資格者に抜擢(ばってき)された。1873年（明治6）パリに滞在中の井上毅(いのうえこわし)ら司法省官員に憲法、刑法を講義したことが機縁となり、明治政府から招聘(しょうへい)され、同年11月に来日した。以後22年の滞在期間中に多方面にわたって貢献し、多くの業績を残した。まず、1874年から法律家の養成を目的に司法省法学校でフランス法や自然法論を講義した。そのほか帝国大学や、東京法学校（のち和仏法律学校、現、法政大学）、明治法律学校（現、明治大学）など草創期の私立法律学校において法学教育に尽力し、卒業後法典編纂(へんさん)や司法実務、法学教育などに活躍する多数の法律家を養成した。また、司法省を中心に元老院、外務省、法制局など政府諸機関に顧問として助言や献策を行うとともに、多様な質問に回答を与えた。とくに1874年の台湾出兵事件や1882年の壬午(じんご)軍乱の善後処理のために有益な助言を行い、さらに1887年の外相井上馨(かおる)の外国人裁判官任用案に反対意見書を提出するなど、外交上や条約改正に貢献した。また司法卿に拷問廃止を強く訴え、拷問制度の廃止に尽力した。主要任務である法典編纂では、まず1876年から刑法、治罪法の草案起草に取り組み、元老院などの審議を経て1880年公布、1882年施行の刑法（旧刑法）、治罪法に結実した。ついで1879年から草案起草にあたった民法は、法律取調委員会や元老院、枢密院などの審議を経て1890年公布の民法（旧民法）に結実したが、法典論争の結果、施行が延期となった。1895年帰国し、南仏アンティーブで1910年6月27日85歳の生涯を閉じた。

［吉井蒼生夫　2018年8月21日］

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