Symposium on Comparative Legal Studies
Japanese and French Law Compared, Lyon, May 10th and 11th 2012

This international symposium adresses the dialogue between Japanese and French jurists. Japanese legal culture has been widely inspired by European legal cultures. When Japan decided to adopt a western-oriented legal system, its first interest was in the French legal system. Academic exchanges between the Japanese and French legal communities started during the second half of the 19^th century and Lyon, especially its Law Faculty played a very special role in this process. What has happened 130 years later to these relations between Lyon and Japan? In which direction has the dialogue gone? What about the Japanese-French legal community?

We will start with the roots of the dialogue, with legal history specialists analysing the first scientific exchanges at the end of the 19^th and the beginning of the 20^th centuries. Moving forward, the 21th century dialogue will focus on the substantive challenges that jurists have to face nowadays: what about the future of the law of obligations, what about its reform? How can the law of individual persons confront globalization? How does business law challenge the economic and financial crisis? Are there any confrontations between the two countries over supporting legal development in South-East Asia? 

Finally, we will see to what point our concerns are common concerns. This may lead us to construct or deconstruct the image of Japanese Law in France and French Law in Japan.