Thonissen first performed duties in the magistracy and the administration of Limburg, but was occupied with juridical works on penal law. When dismissed by the Liberal (anti-clerical) ministry, the University of Leuven appointed him in 1848 to the chair of criminal law. In 1863 he was elected to Parliament.
Although he achieved his fame in his chosen field of penal law, his writings covered varied points of history and social science, as was evidenced by the fact that in 1886 the national jury of social sciences awarded him the prize. In penal matters he began with commentaries on the penal code and devoted himself especially to the reform of the penal procedure which he advocated while he was minister. He had conceived the vast plan of a history of criminal law, but realized only a part of it. The first part, which met with considerable success, dealt with Brahminical India, Egypt, and Judea, and contained a "Penal Code of the Pentateuch". He published a work on the penal law of the Athenian Republic. Considering the Roman period as sufficiently well-known, he took up the Frankish period, which he was unable to finish. He aroused controversy by advocating the abolition of the death penalty, which his influence helped bring about in Belgium. While not rejecting it as absolutely unlawful, Thonissen considered it useless in the social condition of the time.
He showed a marked preference for national political history, his principal work on the subject being the History of the Reign of Leopold I. He also published biographies of prominent Belgians such as Félix de Mérode. He had been impressed by the Revolution of 1848 which determined his career and he devoted himself to a laborious study of innovating systems, especially of the Utopian Socialists - Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, Étienne Cabet, Robert Owen, Louis Blanc, and others, being led eventually to write a history of Socialism from ancient times to 1852. These works and many others secured his admission to the Royal Academy of Belgium and the Institut de France; he was commissioned by the former institution to write the volume devoted to its centenary (1872).
Political careeredit
Thonissen's political career began in 1863 and was never interrupted by his constituents. In the Chamber he functioned as a jurisconsult and drafted many of the parliamentary reports. He occupied a unique position owing to his independence which made him disagree with the Right on certain points, for instance, on military matters. He was deeply attached to the Constitution of Belgium of 1831, which contained articles proclaiming liberty of worship, of the press, etc. Although a devoted Catholic he was a Liberal, and regarded liberties as a natural right, and defended this opinion in his commentary on the Constitution (1844). After the Pope's decisions on these matters, he changed his ideas, but always had a leaning towards solutions favouring broad tolerance.
In 1872, during a period of turmoil, the King entrusted him with the formation of a ministry, he was not supported by his party, which dreaded concessions to the Left or to the Crown. When he finally entered the ministry (1884), age had rendered him unfit for hard work, though he was able to enforce the new school law which the victorious Right had substituted for the lay regime of 1879; this task consumed the last of his strength and left him unable to resume his scientific pursuits in his retirement (1887); his faculties soon became clouded.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Jean-Joseph Thonissen". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. cites:
Lamy in Annuaire de l'Académie royale de Belgique (1892);
Nyssens in Annuaire de l'universite catholique de Louvain (1892).
jean, joseph, thonissen, hasselt, limburg, 1817, leuven, 1891, professor, catholic, university, leuven, minister, belgian, government, thonissen, godfried, guffens, contents, legal, career, political, career, writings, references, external, linkslegal, career,. Jean Joseph Thonissen b Hasselt Limburg 21 Jan 1817 d Leuven 17 Aug 1891 was a professor of law at the Catholic University of Leuven and a minister in the Belgian Government Thonissen by Godfried Guffens Contents 1 Legal career 2 Political career 3 Writings 4 References 5 External linksLegal career editThonissen first performed duties in the magistracy and the administration of Limburg but was occupied with juridical works on penal law When dismissed by the Liberal anti clerical ministry the University of Leuven appointed him in 1848 to the chair of criminal law In 1863 he was elected to Parliament Although he achieved his fame in his chosen field of penal law his writings covered varied points of history and social science as was evidenced by the fact that in 1886 the national jury of social sciences awarded him the prize In penal matters he began with commentaries on the penal code and devoted himself especially to the reform of the penal procedure which he advocated while he was minister He had conceived the vast plan of a history of criminal law but realized only a part of it The first part which met with considerable success dealt with Brahminical India Egypt and Judea and contained a Penal Code of the Pentateuch He published a work on the penal law of the Athenian Republic Considering the Roman period as sufficiently well known he took up the Frankish period which he was unable to finish He aroused controversy by advocating the abolition of the death penalty which his influence helped bring about in Belgium While not rejecting it as absolutely unlawful Thonissen considered it useless in the social condition of the time He showed a marked preference for national political history his principal work on the subject being the History of the Reign of Leopold I He also published biographies of prominent Belgians such as Felix de Merode He had been impressed by the Revolution of 1848 which determined his career and he devoted himself to a laborious study of innovating systems especially of the Utopian Socialists Henri de Saint Simon Charles Fourier Etienne Cabet Robert Owen Louis Blanc and others being led eventually to write a history of Socialism from ancient times to 1852 These works and many others secured his admission to the Royal Academy of Belgium and the Institut de France he was commissioned by the former institution to write the volume devoted to its centenary 1872 Political career editThonissen s political career began in 1863 and was never interrupted by his constituents In the Chamber he functioned as a jurisconsult and drafted many of the parliamentary reports He occupied a unique position owing to his independence which made him disagree with the Right on certain points for instance on military matters He was deeply attached to the Constitution of Belgium of 1831 which contained articles proclaiming liberty of worship of the press etc Although a devoted Catholic he was a Liberal and regarded liberties as a natural right and defended this opinion in his commentary on the Constitution 1844 After the Pope s decisions on these matters he changed his ideas but always had a leaning towards solutions favouring broad tolerance In 1872 during a period of turmoil the King entrusted him with the formation of a ministry he was not supported by his party which dreaded concessions to the Left or to the Crown When he finally entered the ministry 1884 age had rendered him unfit for hard work though he was able to enforce the new school law which the victorious Right had substituted for the lay regime of 1879 this task consumed the last of his strength and left him unable to resume his scientific pursuits in his retirement 1887 his faculties soon became clouded Writings editConstitution belge annotee 1844 1 Le socialisme et ses promesses 2 volumes 1850 La Belgique sous le regne de Leopold I 4 volumes 1855 1858 Vie du comte Felix de Merode 1861 De la pretendue necessite de la peine de mort 1862 Etudes sur l histoire du droit criminel des peuples anciens 1869 References edit On Google Books Attribution nbsp This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain Herbermann Charles ed 1913 Jean Joseph Thonissen Catholic Encyclopedia New York Robert Appleton Company cites Lamy in Annuaire de l Academie royale de Belgique 1892 Nyssens in Annuaire de l universite catholique de Louvain 1892 External links editObituary in the New York Times Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jean Joseph Thonissen amp oldid 1183899797, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
