Faustin Hélie (31 May 1799 – 22 October 1884) was a French jurist and a leading reformer of

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

. Born in

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

and an official in the French Ministry of Justice since 1823, after the

Revolution of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

Hélie became a judge with the

Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...

in 1849. In 1872, he became the president of its criminal chamber, and was briefly Vice President of the State Council. Hélie was influential in reforming the codes and practice of criminal law in France, and, guided by a humanitarian impetus, sought to protect the weak against injustices arising from criminal proceedings. Although some of his proposals appeared too advanced for their time, they all found adherents. In 1849 Hélie was member of a legislative commission reforming the judicial constitution, and in 1878 he headed a commission to reform the criminal code and procedure. His principal works include the 1834 ''Théorie du code pénal'' (with Adolphe Chauveau), the first work to give

French criminal law French criminal law is "the set of legal rules that govern the State's response to offenses and offenders". It is one of the branches of the Legal system, juridical system of the France, French Republic. The field of criminal law is defined as ...

a genuine dogmatic structure, and his 1845 ''Traité de l'instruction criminelle'', which sought to limit the judge's prerogatives to the benefit of the rights of the accused. Hélie was made a member of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in 1839, and an officer in 1859. A street in Paris and Nantes and a place in Nantes are named after him.

References

* 1799 births 1884 deaths People from Nantes Burials at Passy Cemetery 19th-century French jurists {{France-law-bio-stub