CORNELIUS VAN, a distinguished Dutch jurist, was born at Middleburg in Zeeland, in 1673. In the prosecution of his legal studies he found the common law of his country so defective, as to be nearly useless for practical purposes. This abuse he resolved to reform, and took as the basis of a new system the principles of the ancient Roman law. His works are very voluminous. Of these the most important are the Observations Juris Romani, published in 1710, of which a continuation in four books appeared in 1733; his treatise De Dominio Maris, published in 1721; and his Questiones Juris Publici, published in 1737. Complete editions of his works were published after his death; one in folio at Geneva in 1761, and another in two volumes folio at Leyden in 1766.