A Bicentennial Approach to an Exegetical School of Private Law in Louisiana

This paper is an expansion of the 44th Tucker Lecture on Civil Law. It deals with sources of law, codification, and the place of the civil code in the State of Louisiana. It explores to what extent it is possible to speak of the presence of an exegetical school of private law in Louisiana throughout the life of the Louisiana Civil Code. This paper is divided into five parts. First, it deals with foundational aspects of codification and of the Louisiana Civil Code. Second, it offers a conceptualization of exegesis. Third, it presents a periodization to help analyze the degree of exegesis in Louisiana during the past 200 years. Fourth, it addresses the dissemination of the Louisiana Civil Code in the doctrine beyond the Bayou State. Finally, it engages in an exercise on the future of doctrine in Louisiana, sharing action points for self-cultivation. This paper aims to offer insights on the development of doctrinal writings and of an exegetical movement in Louisiana.