The Entity of French Doctrine
Abstract
'Doctrine', from the legal point of view, is often understood, in France at least, as a collection of works. For example, Le Petit Robert' defines it as 'the entirety of legal works whose aim is to expound or interpret the law (as opposed to legislation and judicial decisions)'. This definition is not erroneous, but it only captures one aspect of the matter. If doctrine were only a collection of works, it would be nothing more than a university or law court library. However, it is clearly much more than that. Likewise, it is clear that poetry cannot simply be reduced to a huge collection comprising the works of all French poets. Beyond the production of doctrine (or poetry) lie the workings of doctrine (or poetry), that is to say the persons who devote themselves to it. It is at this point that one encounters other meanings of the term. (First paragraph)