Voltaire, Calas's lawyer

Authors

  • René Ariel Dotti

Keywords:

Voltaire, Calas case, Judicial error, Religious intolerance, Penal reform

Abstract

The article rescues the famous case of Juan Calas, a Protestant merchant sentenced to death on the wheel in Toulouse (1762) accused of murdering his own son to prevent his conversion to Catholicism. The methodology is historical-documentary, based on accounts by Henri Robert, Julio Dassen and André Maurois, as well as Voltaire's own writings. The author narrates Voltaire's role in the retrial, which mobilized his intellectual and political influence to demonstrate the judicial error, religious fanaticism and intolerance. After three years of campaigning, the sentence was annulled and Calas rehabilitated (1765). The article highlights the case as a landmark in the fight against religious prejudice and for the reform of Criminal Law, inspiring Beccaria and the French Revolution.

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Author Biography

René Ariel Dotti

Professor Titular de Direito Penal; Membro da Academia Paranaense de Letras.

References

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Published

1994-07-01

How to Cite

DOTTI, René Ariel. Voltaire, Calas’s lawyer. Brazilian Journal of Criminal Science, São Paulo, v. 7, n. 7, p. 160–166, 1994. Disponível em: https://publicacoes.ibccrim.org.br/index.php/RBCCRIM/article/view/3332. Acesso em: 20 oct. 2026.

Issue

Section

Antiguidades de Direito Criminal
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