The judicial circles in Namur between 1830 and 1880

To study the judicial elites of the 19^th century, it is relevant to use the prosopographical method. In the city of Namur, the seat of a district, lie a district court, a commercial court, and six justice of the peace courts. As we suppose that there is a close link between the magistracy and the bar, our study will also take into account the lawyers. By using quantitative (statistics) and qualitative (analysis of each personal career and private paths) methods, we will underline the relationships between these individuals and the links between their career and their involvement in political and social circles of Namur. Standard profiles of magistrate and lawyer are emerging, that allow a detailed analysis of the judicial circles of Namur.