A compilation of two legal works on criminal matters. - Lot 323

A compilation of two legal works on criminal matters. 1/ - Serpillon, François. - Criminal Code, or Commentary on the Ordinance of 1670, containing the rules prescribed by the old and new Ordinances for the conduct of criminal trials.... Finally, several regulations concerning royal cases and the rights pertaining to the offices of criminal lieutenants and other officers. Lyon, published by the Perisse Brothers, 1767. Three parts in 2 quarto volumes bound in full period calfskin, with decorated raised bands on the spine, title labels, and volume number labels—a small tear on one cap, some scuffing—VIII, 894 pp.; [2ff.], 895–1632 pp. (all included). The last early treatise on the highly significant criminal code of the Ancien Régime established by Louis XIV. Serpillon, Lieutenant General for Criminal Affairs at the Presidium of Autun, advocates for a radical reform of the code, which he considers archaic and inadequate in many respects. This critique would contribute to the major reform of the penal system in the 1780s. This is his most notable work, one of the principal treatises on criminal law of the 18th century. 2/ - Rousseaud de La Combe, Guy du. - Treatise on Criminal Matters, in accordance with the ordinance of August 1670... Paris, Th. Le Gras, 1768. 7th edition—XVI, 382 pp., CCLVIII pp. (Edicts, declarations, judgments, and regulations concerning criminal matters, arranged in chronological order. Presented in a clear and practical manner, this treatise was of great use in the 18th century. The author successively addresses crimes and punishments, the jurisdiction of judges, and the manner of conducting a trial, including the style or model of proceedings. Of note are 45 pp. on edicts concerning duels (Part 4, pp. VI–XLVI)/