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SPEAKER: This is a production of Cornell University.
VINCENT LAMANDA: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: Mr. Chief Justice, gentlemen and chairman of the network of the European Union Supreme Courts, ladies and gentlemen, chairmen, justices, and judges, your honor-- your excellency, Ambassador of the United States, gentleman, the dean of the Cornell Law School, Madam professor, dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, it is an enormous pleasure for me to welcome you here for the inauguration of the Documentation Center on American Law and the Cornell Law School here at the Cour de cassation.
VINCENT LAMANDA: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: This project and the grant that actually-- financial grant that made it possible were designed and negotiated by Sir Basil Markesinis, who is a friend of our court and eminent academic who has dedicated his entire life to establishing the links between the various judicial worlds and academic worlds of different countries in the world in order to enhance cooperation and mutual friendship.
VINCENT LAMANDA: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: The library of the Cour de cassation is today to become the first and most important center in France in terms of information on American law.
VINCENT LAMANDA: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: This achievement only goes to show the quality and the strength of our relation with the United States of America, that can be seen also in the presence today by my side of Chief Justice Roberts, Justices Kennedy, Ginsburg, and Breyer from the American Supreme Court. I dare say, Mrs. Ginsburg, if I'm not mistaken, is a former alumni of Cornell University.
VINCENT LAMANDA: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: And of course, this achievement underlines also the collaboration that we have set up with the academic world that has thus been invited to work hand in hand with us on our thinking process on law.
VINCENT LAMANDA: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: It also underlines-- and this is my last point-- our interest in the contribution that can be made by foreign legislations to our own thinking process. His Honor Lord Phillips being amongst us, and the fact that there are also here in this room, the members of the-- and presidents of the Supreme Court of the European Union, which is a network, the objective of which is precisely to have a better knowledge of our different jurisprudences, testifies to this.
And show the honor and the friendship that exists between us and right now. This is a yet another symbol of the way supreme courts throughout are opening up to different legal cultures and to comparative legal structures, which I deem to be so unnecessary to assume our roles as we sit here today.
VINCENT LAMANDA: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: To the 50,000-odd volumes that you can see around you will be added shortly, no less than 13,000 supplementary volumes that will comprise, amongst other things, decisions and rulings of American jurisdictions, whether they be state jurisdictions or federal, as well as the main legal American publications. Thus, giving us the possibility of doing online research with the assistance of the librarian team-- sorry-- at the Cornell University.
VINCENT LAMANDA: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: And I would like to pay tribute to the dean of the Cornell Law School, Professor Schwab, as well as Mrs.-- Professor Germain for having known and made it possible to express in such a magnificent way the-- the international cooperation that exists between our court and the United States, thus imagining its future.
VINCENT LAMANDA: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: I would now like to invite Mr. Nadal, who was the attorney general, to take the floor. He would be followed by Dean Schwab with the-- the Cornell University, followed himself by Mrs. Germain, and Lord Phillips, who is the chairman of the Network and the European Union Supreme Courts. And last but not least, the floor will be given to Mrs. Ginsburg who would unveil the plaque.
JEAN-LOUIS NADAL: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: Chief Justice of the American Supreme Court, Chief Justice Roberts, Your Honor, Lord Chief Justice Phillips, Mr.-- Justice Ginsburg, Professor Schwab, Professor Germain, Mr. President-- or Mr. French Chief Justice, rather-- the ceremony that is about to take place here is truly exceptional, since we have gathered here symbolically all the people in charge of the highest courts of the two continents around a founding act, that of the creation of a documentary center on American law by the Cornell Law School here at the Cour de cassation. This ceremony is all the more important--
JEAN-LOUIS NADAL: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: Forgive me. I was anticipating that this ceremony was all the more important that it was taking place in the presence of the highest ranking representatives of the American Supreme Court.
JEAN-LOUIS NADAL: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: So in fact today, we are seeing the outcome of this long project that had being started by your predecessor, Mr. President. So it is today materializing. And it will end up in the availability of more than 13,000 volumes gathering the jurisprudence or case law of the American Supreme Court and the American federal courts, and, of course, thereby starting a process of assistance to electronic research.
JEAN-LOUIS NADAL: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: I would more particularly like to thank Cornell University for having chosen the French Cour de cassation as the location for the creation of such a center.
JEAN-LOUIS NADAL: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: It for us, a particularly-- a particular source of pride to thus to become, to put it this way, the gateway of legal knowledge between our two continents and between our two legal cultures.
JEAN-LOUIS NADAL: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: By becoming the first such European center specializing in American law, the Cour de cassation has a very heavy responsibility today. And that is to make sure that this knowledge, or this information, is circulated as widely as possible in order to allow for better knowledge of the jurisprudence of American courts, thus ensuring that our legal communities move closer together.
JEAN-LOUIS NADAL: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: And we also intend to welcome students from the Cornell Law School, thus, of course, enhancing further the sharing of our information and knowledge.
JEAN-LOUIS NADAL: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: Equal justice under the law, this is the motto of the Supreme Court of the United States. And this only echoes the French equivalent. Though I don't know if I should spare you the French connotation, which also means that for the entire republic, there is but one Cour de cassation.
JEAN-LOUIS NADAL: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: And this goes to show that beyond the known differences that exist, our legal traditions, in fact, find the source of their origin and a common essence, that of the primacy of law, and that of the independence of the judges who are entrusted with the judgment.
JEAN-LOUIS NADAL: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: So this day is full of promises. Promises which, by the way, the Cour de cassation will become the custodian of. These promises there is an even greater knowledge of our respective legal systems. And also promises of the emergence of a shared legal culture.
JEAN-LOUIS NADAL: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: And I would like to most heartily renew my words of thanks to the representatives of the Cornell Law School, and assure them of the acknowledgment of the French judiciary of the Cour de cassation, and its unfailing support together with President Vincent Lamanda in all of the joint actions that will be undertaken in the future. Thank you all.
[APPLAUSE]
STEWART SCHWAB: [INAUDIBLE]
INTERPRETER: I don't know.
STEWART SCHWAB: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
Gathered at this conference, at this celebration this morning, is a remarkable group of judicial talent. In addition to those from the United States and France, I myself have had a delightful and informative conversations with the chief justices from Belgium, Austria, Great Britain, Denmark, among others.
A legal positive first emphasizes the sovereignty and independent power of individual legal systems. But other legal theorists say we are witnessing the rebirth of the jus commune, where common principles dominate over differences of individual nations.
INTERPRETER: Could I borrow your [INAUDIBLE]?
STEWART SCHWAB: Yes. If you want to say that I've come a long way, haven't I?
INTERPRETER: That's OK.
STEWART SCHWAB: The French was very good, I hope.
INTERPRETER: The French was excellent. The only thing I'm worried about is your [INAUDIBLE] handwriting.
[LAUGHTER]
STEWART SCHWAB: It's not good.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
STEWART SCHWAB: Under either approach it is useful-- indeed, important-- for the leading judges and scholars of the various legal systems to come together to discuss common issues for at least two reasons. First, hearing new approaches on either process or substance might give one of us a new idea to transport home. But second, and more likely, describing our own system and seeing in the listener's face what is familiar or what is confusing is fresh understanding of our own law.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
STEWART SCHWAB: Now a conference produces important, but fleeting dialogue. Books preserve ideas. We are standing in an inspiring room in an inspiring building. The ideas in these books already here have reverberated literally across the centuries.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
STEWART SCHWAB: When the officials of the Cour de cassation approached Cornell Law School with the idea of adding American legal materials to their already historic collection, I was humbled that they would choose us and inspired by their vision. At both a symbolic and a functional level, here are the chief judges of one of the world's greatest and proudest legal systems, reaching out to acknowledge the importance of maintaining a permanent dialogue with other legal systems. And the American judges and scholars represented in these books are speaking not only to Americans, but to all those furthering the rule of law.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
STEWART SCHWAB: So all of us in this room, in ways large and small, are working to improve our world through a conception of a rule of law that protects individual liberties and the democratic process. The conference today furthers that goal. And I am proud that the Cornell Center that we unveil today will further that goal for years to come, as judges and scholars read these books and ponder their relevance to their own legal system in the decades, perhaps even centuries, ahead. [FRENCH].
[APPLAUSE]
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
Thank you very much.
[LAUGHTER]
[APPLAUSE]
CLAIRE GERMAIN: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
I'm very happy and honored to be with you today. It's a wonderful opportunity for communication and exchange.
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
The speakers before me have already covered a lot of ground, so I will be brief.
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
In our world which is more and more dominated by the intellect, it's important to remember that books are essential to the communication of knowledge from generation to generation.
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
I'm very proud to see these books here. We started shipping the US Supreme Court reports that you can see here.
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
I would like to thank-- I would like to thank the Cour de cassation for their wonderful hospitality. In particular, I would like to thank Monsieur [FRENCH], who organized the conference with a total mastery. And Mr. Goldberg, a young student is working for the court this summer, and who one day will be a wonderful diplomat.
I wanted to show you something I will discuss in English. At Cornell, we have prepared a commemorative booklet which retraces the history of the friendship between America and France, of France and America, throughout the centuries through documents that we have in our collection, so both American documents and French documents. Those of you who are attending the conference will receive a copy. If you're not attending the conference and you would like a copy, I have extras for you.
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
I hope you will like this brochure, and that it could be a nice souvenir of this ceremony, which is very moving for me because I'm a French citizen, US citizen, and European at heart.
[APPLAUSE]
LORD PHILLIPS: [FRENCH], Chief Justice, distinguished colleagues, distinguished academics, it is a great pleasure to be invited to say a few words at this opening on behalf of the Network of the Presidents of the Supreme Courts of Europe.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
LORD PHILLIPS: This center will provide to those studying and practicing law in Paris unprecedented access to American jurisprudence.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
LORD PHILLIPS: Many of us believe strongly that there are cases where it is desirable that a judge, when making a decision in his own jurisdiction, should be informed of comparative jurisprudence in the area in question.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
LORD PHILLIPS: One of the prime objects of the European network is to share our jurisprudence, and so we pay tribute to those who are responsible for this center.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
LORD PHILLIPS: There is no one who believes more strongly in the practical value of studying comparative law than Professor Sir Basil Markesinis, who has played such an important role in making the projects of this center a reality.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
LORD PHILLIPS: The Center also reflects the vision and enterprise of the Cour de cassation, and in particular, its former premier president Guy Canivet.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
LORD PHILLIPS: Finally, of course, the Center has been made possible because of the generosity of Cornell Law School, and its enthusiasm for an expertise in international and comparative law.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
LORD PHILLIPS: An enthusiasm for the application of comparative law is one that is not always manifested in the judgments of the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
LORD PHILLIPS: Happily, there is, on this historic visit of members of that court to Paris, representation of the view that what is done in Europe can, on occasion, usefully inform decisions made in the United States.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
LORD PHILLIPS: On behalf of the Network of Presidents of the Supreme Courts of Europe, may I congratulate all who've played a part in the creation of this center.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
[APPLAUSE]
RUTH BADER GINSBURG: [SPEAKING FRENCH] This is a bright moment for all affiliated with Cornell University, including my husband and me, graduates of the Cornell Arts and Sciences classes of 1953 and 1954. It is fitting that Cornell Law School should have this important liaison with the Cour de cassation, for Cornell fostered instruction in comparative law long before most US law faculties added courses on foreign legal systems to their curriculums.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
RUTH BADER GINSBURG: Cornell's innovation is attributable long before Sir Basil to a legal scholar appropriately remembered at this gathering, Rudolf B. Schlesinger. Professor Schlesinger earned his first law degree in 1933 from the University of Munich, the city of his birth. He was obliged to leave his native land in 1938, shortly before Kristallnacht, when the Nazi party gained ascendancy in Germany.
Schlesinger earned a second law degree at Columbia University in 1942. And in 1948, commenced teaching at Cornell Law School, a faculty he graced until his retirement in 1975. His book, Comparative Law, Cases, Text, Materials, examines the differences and similarities among the legal systems of nations. Initially published in 1950, the work has since been revised and republished several times.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
RUTH BADER GINSBURG: Five years after the first publication of Comparative Law in 1955, Professor Schlesinger completed his study for the New York Law Revision Commission titled, "Problems of Codification of Commercial Law." That seminal effort anticipated the later development in the United States and the Uniform Commercial Code under American law Institute auspices.
In 1995, in a tribute to Professor Schlesinger, the year before his death at age 87, the American Journal of Comparative Law noted his influence, the influence of his work, beyond United States borders. Today, serious efforts to find and develop a unitary European private law, the Journal editors wrote, is consciously or unconsciously a continuation of Schlesinger's heroic efforts.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
RUTH BADER GINSBURG: It was my great good fortune to know Professor Schlesinger, first as a revered teacher, and later as a treasured colleague. He acquainted me and legions of others with the value of learning about and from legal systems other than our own, recognizing the common core of legal systems, while understanding characteristic differences. I know he would strongly applaud the center we dedicate this morning.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
RUTH BADER GINSBURG: With remembrance of a grand master of comparative law in mind, it is now my honor and privilege to unveil the plaque that symbolizes the unique partnership between Cornell Law School and the Cour de cassation. May the Center for Documentation on American Law advance a continuing conversation and enhance understanding between jurists in France-- indeed, in all of Europe-- and their counterparts in the United States.
INTERPRETER: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
[APPLAUSE]
VINCENT LAMANDA: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: Please take a seat, especially the ladies. And I apologize for not thinking of this earlier. This seems to be a lengthy process, so if anybody would like to sit down, please feel free.
VINCENT LAMANDA: [SPEAKING FRENCH]
[APPLAUSE]
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
[APPLAUSE]
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
INTERPRETER: Please now follow me to the Grand Chamber, where we shall be holding our meeting. Offer a cup of coffee, maybe, if you'd like one.
July 17, 2007 dedication of a collection of 13,000 volumes of American case law, a gift from the Law School to the Cour de cassation.
The only collection of its kind in France, it will be housed within the court as the Cornell Center for Documentation on American Law. The collection will be made available to French magistrates and to Cornell law faculty and students in the Paris summer institute.
