View source for Napoleonic Code

{{short description|French civil code established in 1804}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox legislation
| short_title    = Civil Code of the French<br />{{small|{{lang|fr|Code civil des Français}}}}
| legislature    = Legislature of the [[French Consulate]]
| image          = Speyer, Historical Museum of the Palatinate - Code civil des Français.jpg
| imagesize      = 
| image_upright  = 
| imagealt       = 
| caption        = The Napoleonic Code in the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in [[Speyer]]
| long_title     = 
| citation       = [https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/texte_lc/LEGITEXT000006070721/2020-09-18/ Code civil]
| territorial_extent = [[France]]
| considered_by  = 
| enacted_by     = ''[[Corps législatif]]''
| date_enacted   = 
| date_passed    = 
| date_assented  = 
| royal_assent   = 
| date_signed    = 
| signed_by      = [[First Consul]] [[Napoleon|Napoleon Bonaparte]]
| date_commenced = 
| date_effective = {{start date|1804|03|21|df=y}}
| date_of_expiry = 
| date_repealed  = 
| administered_by = 
| bill           = 
| bill_citation  = 
| bill_date      = 
| introduced_by  = Jacques de Maleville<br />[[Jean-Étienne-Marie Portalis|Jean Portalis]]<br />[[Félix-Julien-Jean Bigot de Préameneu|Félix Bigot de Préameneu]]<br />[[François Denis Tronchet|François Tronchet]]
| 1st_reading    = 
| 2nd_reading    = 
| 3rd_reading    = 
| conf_committee_passed = 
| committee_report = 
| date_conf_committee = 
| white_paper    = 
| amends         = 
| repeals        = [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k56510716?rk=21459;2 Civil Code of the French Republic] (1803)
| amended_by     = [https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/id/LEGIARTI000038262578/2019-03-25#LEGIARTI000038262578 Law 2019–2022] on 1 September 2020
| repealed_by    = 
| related_legislation = 
| summary        = 
| keywords       = 
| status         = amended
}}
{{Napoleon series}}

The '''Napoleonic Code''' ({{Langx|fr|Code Napoléon}}), officially the '''Civil Code of the French''' ({{Langx|fr|Code civil des Français}}; simply referred to as {{lang|fr|Code civil}}), is the [[France|French]] [[civil code]] established during the [[French Consulate]] in 1804 and still in force in France, although heavily and frequently amended since its inception.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Code civil des Français: édition originale et seule officielle |publisher=L'Imprimerie de la République. |place=Paris |year=1804 |url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1061517/f2.image |access-date= 28 November 2016 |via= Gallica}}</ref> Although [[Napoleon]] himself was not directly involved in the drafting of the Code, as it was drafted by a commission of four eminent jurists,<ref name="Robert B. Holtman 1981">Robert B. Holtman, ''The Napoleonic Revolution'' (Baton Rouge: [[Louisiana State University Press]], 1981)</ref> he chaired many of the commission's plenary sessions,<ref name=Foot01/> and his support was crucial to its enactment.<ref>Roberts, Andrew, ''Napoleon: A Life'',"Lawgiver"</ref>

The code, with its stress on clearly written and accessible law, was a major milestone in the abolition of the previous patchwork of [[Feudalism|feudal]] laws.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1327640.pdf | jstor=1327640 | title=Napoleon and His Code | last1=Lobingier | first1=Charles Sumner | journal=Harvard Law Review | date=1918 | volume=32 | issue=2 | pages=114–134 | doi=10.2307/1327640 }}</ref> Historian Robert Holtman regards it as one of the few documents that have influenced the whole world.<ref name="Robert B. Holtman 1981"/><ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=The Napoleonic Code {{!}} History of Western Civilization II |url=https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory2/chapter/the-napoleonic-code/ |access-date=30 January 2021 |website=courses.lumenlearning.com}}</ref>

The Napoleonic Code was not the first legal code to be established in a European country with a [[civil law (legal system)|civil-law]] [[List of national legal systems|legal system]]; it was preceded by the {{lang|la|[[Codex Maximilianeus bavaricus civilis]]}} ([[Electorate of Bavaria|Bavaria]], 1756), the {{lang|de|[[Allgemeines Landrecht]]}} ([[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], 1794), and the ''[[West Galician Code]]'' ([[Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria|Galicia]], then part of [[Austrian Empire|Austria]], 1797).{{cn|date=June 2023}} It was, however, the first modern legal code to be adopted with a pan-European scope, and it strongly influenced the law of many of the countries formed during and after the [[Napoleonic Wars]].<ref name=":0">[https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/history-of-law-in-europe/french-revolution-and-the-law/39F246BD158F001C5ACBFB8B471A6D35 29 - The French Revolution and the Law], in ''Part IV - The Age of Reforms (1750–1814)'', Cambridge University Press, 31 July 2017; Antonio Padoa-Schioppa, 
Translated by
Caterina Fitzgerald</ref><ref name="Robert B. Holtman 1981"/><ref name=":1" /> The Napoleonic Code influenced developing countries outside Europe attempting to modernise and defeudalise their countries through legal reforms, such as those in the [[Middle East]],<ref>{{cite book|page=19|title=Globalization and New International Public Works Agreements in Developing Countries: An Analytical Perspective|author=Mohamed A.M. Ismail | publisher=Routledge |year=2016|isbn=9781317127031|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f-gFDAAAQBAJ|via=[[Google Books]]|quote="All civil codes of Arab Middle Eastern states are based on Napoleonic Codes and were influenced by Egyptian legislation"}}</ref> while in [[Latin America]] the Spanish and Portuguese had established their own versions of the civil code.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/840794 | jstor=840794 | title=Civil Law and Common Law in the Legal Method of Puerto Rico | last1=Matta | first1=Liana Fiol | journal=[[The American Journal of Comparative Law]] | date=1992 | volume=40 | issue=4 | pages=783–815 | doi=10.2307/840794 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==History==
The categories of the Napoleonic Code were not drawn from earlier French law, but instead from [[Justinian I|Justinian's]] sixth-century codification of [[Roman law]], the ''[[Corpus Juris Civilis]]'', and within it, the ''Institutes''.<ref>{{cite journal| author = Iain Stewart | title = ''Mors Codicis'': End of the Age of Codification?  | journal = Tulane European & Civil Law Forum | volume = 27 | pages = 17 at 23–24 | year = 2012 }}</ref>   The ''Institutes'' divide into the law of:

# persons
# things
# actions.

Similarly, the Napoleonic Code divided the law into four sections:

# persons
# property
# acquisition of property
# civil procedure (moved into a separate code in 1806).

===Prior codification attempts===
Before the Napoleonic Code, France did not have a single set of [[law]]s; law consisted mainly of local customs, sometimes officially compiled in "custumals" (''[[Old French law|coutumes]]''), notably the ''[[Custom of Paris in New France|Custom of Paris]]''. There were also exemptions, [[Privilege (law)|privileges]], and special [[Charter|charters]] granted by kings or other feudal lords. With the Revolution, the last vestiges of feudalism were abolished.{{fact|date=March 2024}}

Specifically, as to civil law, the many different bodies of law used in different parts of France were to be replaced by a single legal code. The [[National Constituent Assembly (France)|Constituent Assembly]] on 5 October 1790 voted for a codification of French laws, the [[French Constitution of 1791|Constitution of 1791]] promised one, and the [[National Assembly (French Revolution) |National Assembly]] adopted a unanimous resolution on 4 September 1791 providing that "there shall be a code of civil laws common for the entire realm."<ref>Constitution of 3 September 1791, 1.11: "''Il sera fait un Code de lois civiles communes à tout le Royauame''".</ref> However, it was the [[National Convention]] in 1793 which established a special commission headed by [[Jean-Jacques-Régis de Cambacérès]] to oversee the drafting process.<ref>Cronin, Vincent (1972). ''Napoleon Bonaparte. An Intimate Biography.'' pp. 176, 193, 283</ref> 

His drafts of 1793 (for which Cambacérès had been given a one month deadline), 1794, and 1796 were all rejected by a National Convention and the [[French Directory]] of the time was more preoccupied with the turmoil resulting from various wars and strife with other European powers. The first draft contained 719 articles and was very revolutionary, but was rejected for being too technical and criticised for not being radical or philosophical enough. The second, with only 297 articles, was rejected for being too brief and was criticised for being a mere manual of morals. The third, expanded to 1,104 articles, was presented under the conservative Directory regime, but never even came up for discussion.{{fact|date=March 2024}}

Another commission, established in December 1799 established a fourth outline drafted in part by {{ILL|Jean-Ignace Jacqueminot|fr}} (1754–1813). Jacqueminot's draft, the so-called ''loi Jacqueminot'', dealt almost exclusively with persons<ref>Eric Descheemaeker, ''The Division of Wrongs: A Historical Comparative Study'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), 128.</ref> and emphasised the need to reform the [[divorce]] laws, to strengthen parental authority and increase the testator's freedom to dispose of the free portion of his estate.<ref>Tom Holmberg, "The Civil Code: an Overview", ''The Napoleon Series'', September 2002, [online] <https://www.napoleon-series.org/research/government/code/c_code2.html>.</ref> It was rejected.

===Napoleonic reforms===
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2011}}
Napoleon's victory at the [[Battle of Marengo]] allowed him to consolidate his power in France.<ref>Hollins, ''Encyclopedia'', pp. 605–606.</ref> Returning to Paris, he appointed on 12 August 1800 a commission of distinguished jurists and politicians, including [[Jacques de Maleville]], [[François Denis Tronchet]], [[Félix-Julien-Jean Bigot de Préameneu]], [[Jean-Étienne-Marie Portalis]] to draft a civil code.<ref>Zamoyski, Adam, ''Napoleon: A Life'',"Caesar"</ref> For this commission, Cambacérès (now Second Consul), and Napoleon himself chaired the plenary sessions.<ref name=Foot01/> After this process finished, the Code was sent to the [[Legislative Body]] as a preliminary bill in December 1801, where it was rejected by a vote of 142 to 139.<ref name=Foot02/> In response, Napoleon announced on 2 January 1802 that he was suspending all projects, effectively closing the assemblies' sessions; simultaneously, he went to the [[Sénat conservateur]] to berate its members. These tactics cowed the legislature into submission, and gave Napoleon the majority he needed.<ref>Zamoyski, Adam, ''Napoleon: A Life'',"Peace"</ref> The code finally came into effect on 21 March 1804.<ref name=Foot03/>

The process developed mainly out of the various customs,{{what|date=June 2023}} but was inspired by Justinian's sixth-century codification of [[Roman law]], the ''[[Corpus Juris Civilis]]'' and, within that, Justinian's Code (''Codex''). The Napoleonic Code, however, differed from Justinian's in important ways: 
* it incorporated all kinds of earlier rules, not just legislation; 
* it was not a collection of edited extracts, but a comprehensive rewrite; 
* its structure was much more rational; 
* it had no religious content
* it was written in the [[vernacular]].

The Napoleonic Code marked a fundamental change in the nature of the [[civil law (legal system)|civil law legal system]], making laws clearer and [[rule of law|more accessible]]. It also superseded the former conflict between royal legislative power and, particularly in the final years before the Revolution, protests by judges representing views and privileges of the social classes to which they belonged. Such conflict led the Revolutionaries to take a negative view of judges making law.

This is reflected in the Napoleonic Code provision prohibiting judges from deciding a case by way of introducing a general rule (Article 5), since the creation of general rules is an exercise of [[Legislature|legislative]] and not of [[Judiciary|judicial power]]. In theory, there is thus no [[case law]] in France. However, the courts still had to fill in the gaps in the laws and regulations and, indeed, were prohibited from refusing to do so (Article 4). Moreover, both the code and legislation have required judicial interpretation. Thus a vast body of case law has come into existence, but without any rule of ''[[Precedent|stare decisis]]''.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

==Contents of the Napoleonic Code==
The preliminary article of the code established certain important provisions regarding the [[rule of law]]. Laws could be applied only if they had been [[Principle of legality in French criminal law|duly promulgated]], and then only if they had previously been officially published (including provisions for publishing delays, given the means of communication available at the time). In brief, no secret laws were authorised. It prohibited ''[[Ex post facto law|ex post facto]]'' laws (i.e. laws that apply to events that occurred before their introduction). The code also prohibited judges from refusing to do justice on grounds of the insufficiency of the law, thereby encouraging them to interpret the law. On the other hand, it also prohibited judges from making general judgements of a legislative nature (see above).<ref>{{cite web |title=The Napoleonic Code {{!}} History of Western Civilization II |url=https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-worldhistory2/chapter/the-napoleonic-code/ |website=courses.lumenlearning.com |access-date=30 January 2021}}</ref>{{rs?|date=June 2023}}

With regard to family, the code established the supremacy of the husband over his wife and children, the ''status quo'' in Europe at the time. Women had even fewer rights than children. Divorce by mutual consent was abolished in 1804.<ref>"The ''Code Napoléon'': French Legislation on Divorce," ''Exploring the European Past: Texts & Images'', Second Edition, ed. Timothy E. Gregory (Mason: Thomson, 2007), 62–64.</ref>

==Other French Napoleonic-era codes==
The draft Military Code was presented to Napoleon by the special commission headed by [[Pierre Daru]] in June 1805; however, as the [[War of the Third Coalition]] progressed, the code was put aside and never implemented.
 
In 1791, [[Louis-Michel le Peletier, marquis de Saint-Fargeau|Louis Michel le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau]] presented a new criminal code to the [[National Constituent Assembly (France)|National Constituent Assembly]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wOcvAAAAMAAJ
|access-date=2008-03-31
|year=1819
|language=fr
|place=Paris
|publisher=A. Eymery
|page=320
|volume=VI
|chapter=Livre III ... du code pénal
|title=Choix de rapports, opinions et discours prononcés à la tribune nationale
}}</ref> He explained that it outlawed only "true crimes", and not "phony offences created by superstition, feudalism, the tax system, and [royal] [[despotism]]".<ref>"ces délits factices, créés par la superstition, la féodalité, la fiscalité et le despotisme" (id., p. 325).</ref> He did not list the crimes "created by superstition". The new penal code did not mention [[blasphemy]], [[heresy]], [[sacrilege]], [[witchcraft]], [[incest]], or [[homosexuality]], which led to these former offences being swiftly decriminalised. In 1810, a [[French Penal Code of 1810|new criminal code]] was issued under Napoleon. As with the [[French Penal Code of 1791|Penal Code of 1791]], it did not contain provisions for religious crimes, incest, or homosexuality.

* After an overhaul of the entire legal system, the new code of civil procedure was adopted in 1806.

* The commercial code (''{{ILL|code de commerce|fr}}'') was adopted in 1807.<ref>[http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/rechCodeArticle.do?reprise=true&page=1 Code de commerce]  Retrieved 2011-12-30</ref> The kernel of the commercial code is the Book III, "Of The Different Modes of Acquiring Property", of the Napoleonic Code, which sets out norms for [[Transaction cost|contracts and transactions]].

* ''Code d'instruction'': In 1808, the ''code d'instruction criminelle'' was published, laying out [[criminal procedure]]. The ''[[parlement]]'' system from before the Revolution, had been much abused, and the criminal courts established by the Revolution were complex and ineffective, subject to many local pressures. The genesis of this code resulted in much debate and the basis of the modern [[inquisitorial system]] of criminal courts in France and many civil law countries. It has significantly changed since, especially with regard to the rights of the defendant.<ref> Adhémar Esmein, ''A History of Continental Criminal Procedure'' (1913) pp. 528–616. [https://archive.org/details/ahistorycontine01mittgoog/page/n28/mode/2up online]</ref>

The French Revolution's [[Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen]] enunciated the [[presumption of innocence]] until found guilty. Concerned by the possibility of [[arbitrary arrest and detention]], or excessive [[Pre-trial detention|remand]], Napoleon remarked that care should be taken to preserve personal freedoms, especially before the Imperial Court: "these courts would have a great strength, they should be prohibited from abusing this situation against weak citizens without connections."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chern |first=Cyril |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J1PhCwAAQBAJ |title=The Law of Construction Disputes |year=2016 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-317-43346-0 |language=en}}</ref> However, remand still was usual for defendants suspected of serious crimes such as murder.

The possibility of lengthy remand periods was one criticism—particularly voiced in common law countries—of the Napoleonic Code. Another concern was the combination of magistrate and prosecutor into a single role.<ref>{{cite news|title=French Criminal Procedure|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1895/04/14/102454136.pdf
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603212142/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1895/04/14/102454136.pdf
 |archive-date=2020-06-03 |url-status=live|access-date=14 June 2011|newspaper=New York Times|date=14 April 1895}}</ref> However, once the work of the ''[[Examining magistrate|juge d'instruction]]'' was completed, the trial itself followed the principle of presumption of innocence; for example, the juror's oath explicitly required jurors not to betray the interests of the defendants or ignore their defence.

The rules governing court proceedings gave significant power to the prosecution; however, criminal justice in European countries in those days tended to repression. For instance, it was only in 1836 that prisoners charged with a [[felony]] were given a formal [[right to counsel]] in [[Right to counsel#In the United Kingdom|England]]. In comparison, article 294 of the Napoleonic Code of Criminal Procedure{{clarify|reason=Did you mean, the '1808 code d'instruction criminelle'?|date=September 2023}} allowed the defendant access to  a lawyer before a ''[[Cour d'assises]]'', and mandated the court to appoint a lawyer for the defendants who did not have one. (Failing to do so nullified the proceedings.)

Whether or not the ''Cour d'assises'', which judges severe crimes, should operate with a [[jury]] was a topic of considerable controversy. Napoleon supported jury trials (or ''petit jury''), and they were finally adopted. On the other hand, Napoleon opposed the [[indictment]] jury ("[[grand jury]]" of [[common law]] countries), and preferred to assign this task to the criminal division of the [[Appellate court|Court of Appeals]]. Special courts were created to judge criminals who might intimidate the jury.

==French codes in the 21st century==
The French codes, now more than 60 in number,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/initRechCodeArticle.do|title=Recherche simple dans les codes en vigueur – Legifrance|work=legifrance.gouv.fr}}</ref> are frequently amended, as well as [[Judicial review|judicially re-interpreted]]. Therefore, for over a century all of the codes in force have been documented in the annually revised editions published by [[Dalloz]] (Paris).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://boutique.dalloz.fr|title=Code civil, Code du travail, tous les livres de droit des Editions Dalloz|work=dalloz.fr}}</ref> These editions consist of thorough [[annotation]]s, with references to other codes, relevant [[statute]]s, judicial decisions (even if unpublished), and international instruments. The "small (''petit'')" version of the Civil Code in this form is nearly 3,000 pages, available in print and online. Additional material, including scholarly articles, is added in the larger "expert (''expert'')" version and the still larger "mega (''méga'')" version, both of which are available in print and on searchable [[CD-ROM]]. By this stage, it has been suggested, the Civil Code has become "less a book than a database".<ref>{{cite journal| author = Iain Stewart | title = ''Mors Codicis'': End of the Age of Codification?  | journal = Tulane European & Civil Law Forum | volume = 27 | pages = 17 at 24–25 | year = 2012 }}</ref>

The sheer number of codes, together with digitisation, led the ''Commission supérieure de codification'' to reflect in its annual report for 2011:

<blockquote>The Commission observes that the age of drawing up new codes is probably reaching its end. The aim of a nearly complete codification of the law is no longer pursued, for three reasons: firstly, the technical developments by which texts are provided in non-physical form offer to users modes of access that are comparable in many ways to those available through a code; secondly, the creation of new codes encounters a kind of law of diminishing returns in that, the more progress that is made in the development of new codes, the trickier it becomes to determine in which code particular provisions should be located; and, finally, it is clear that certain kinds of provision [...] are unsuitable for codification, since codification makes sense only when it involves provisions that possess sufficient generality.<ref>[http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/Droit-francais/Codification/Rapports-annuels-de-la-CSC Commission supérieure de codification, ''Vingt et unième rapport annuel 2010''] (Paris, 2011), 13;  quoted and translated, {{cite journal| author = Iain Stewart | title = ''Mors Codicis'': End of the Age of Codification?  | journal = Tulane European & Civil Law Forum | volume = 27 | pages = 17 at 25 | year = 2012 }}</ref></blockquote>

A year later, the Commission recommended that, after its current codification projects were completed, there should not be any further codes; an additional reason was government delay in publishing reforms that the Commission had completed.<ref>[http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/Droit-francais/Codification/Rapports-annuels-de-la-CSC Commission supérieure de codification, ''Vingt-deuxième rapport annuel 2011''] (Paris, 2012), 21.</ref> The government responded encouragingly in March 2013, but the Commission in 2014 complained that this has not been followed through; in particular, that the government had abandoned its plan for a public service code (''code général de la fonction publique'').<ref>{{Cite book |last=Commission Supérieure de Codification |url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/Droit-francais/Codification/Rapports-annuels-de-la-CSC |title=Vingt-Quatrième Rapport Annuel 2013 |year=2014 |location=Paris |pages=6-7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721081548/http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/content/download/6769/98979/version/3/file/rapport_csc_24_2013.pdf |archive-date=21 July 2015}}</ref>

==Codes in other countries==
{{more citations needed section|date=February 2012}}
Even though the Napoleonic Code was [[civil code#Important civil codes|not the first]] civil code, it was the first modern legal code to be widely adopted in Europe, and it influenced the law of many of the countries formed during and after the [[Napoleonic Wars]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name="Robert B. Holtman 1981" /><ref>Senkowska-Gluck, Monika. "Effects of Napoleonic Legislation on the Development of the 19th-century Europe." ''Acta Poloniae Historica'' 38 (1978): 185–198. {{ISSN|0001-6829}}</ref>  In the German regions on the west bank of the Rhine ([[Palatinate (region)|Rhenish Palatinate]] and Prussian [[Rhine Province]]), the former [[Duchy of Berg]] and the [[Grand Duchy of Baden]], the Napoleonic Code was influential until the introduction of the ''[[Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch]]'' in 1900 as the first common civil code for the entire [[German Empire]].<ref name="Arvind TT; Stirton L 2010 1–29">{{cite journal |author1=Arvind TT|author2= Stirton L |title=Explaining the Reception of the Code Napoleon in Germany: a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis |journal=Legal Studies |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=1–29 |date=March 2010 |doi=10.1111/j.1748-121X.2009.00150.x |s2cid=53581236 |url=http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123270568/abstract|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130105071047/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123270568/abstract|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-01-05}}</ref>

A number of factors have been shown by Arvind and Stirton to have had a determinative role in the decision by the German states to receive the code, including territorial concerns, Napoleonic control and influence, the strength of central state institutions, a feudal economy and society, rule by [[Liberalism|liberal]] ([[Enlightened absolutism|enlightened despotic]]) rulers, [[nativism (politics)|nativism]] among the governing elites, and popular [[anti-French sentiment]].<ref name="Arvind TT; Stirton L 2010 1–29"/>

A civil code with Napoleonic code influences was also adopted in 1864 in [[United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia|Romania]], and remained in force until 2011.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://anndrei.ro/noul-cod-civil-promoveaza-medierea/ | title=Noul Cod civil promovează medierea | date=2013-05-05 | access-date=2013-05-31 | archive-date=2013-07-25 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130725045740/http://anndrei.ro/noul-cod-civil-promoveaza-medierea/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>  

The term "Napoleonic Code" is also used to refer to legal codes of other [[jurisdictions]] that are influenced by the ''French Code Napoléon'', especially the ''[[Civil Code of Lower Canada]]'' (replaced in 1994 by the ''[[Civil Code of Quebec]]''), mainly derived from the ''[[Old French law|Coutume de Paris]]'', which the British continued to use in [[Canada]] following the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|1763 Treaty of Paris]]. However, most of the laws in Latin American countries are not heavily influenced by the Napoleonic Code, as the Spanish and Portuguese versions of the civil code formed the foundation of the Latin American legal systems e.g. the [[Chilean Civil Code|Chilean]], [[Law of Mexico|Mexican]],<ref>[https://www.elsevier.es/en-revista-mexican-law-review-123-articulo-the-need-remove-civil-code-S1870057817300082 The Need to Remove the Civil Code from Mexican Commercial Laws: the Case of "Offers" and "Firm Promises"]; ''Mexican Law Review''  Vol. 10. Iss. 1, pp. 21–44 (July – December 2017)
{{doi|10.22201/iij.24485306e.2017.19.11382}}</ref> and Puerto Rican civil codes.<ref>{{Citation    |year= 1950 |last=Rabel |first=Ernst   |contribution= Private Laws of Western Civilization: Part II. The French Civil Code  |title=Louisiana Law Review |volume=10  |issue=2 |pages=110   |url=http://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/lalrev/vol10/iss2/2/ |access-date= 1 December 2016}}</ref>

In [[Mauritius]], the Civil Code, which originates from the Napoleonic Code, represents an important primary source of law and provides for the rights of individuals, matrimonial regimes, contract law, and property law, amongst others.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.mauritiuscounsel.com/mauritian-legal-system/ | title=The Mauritian Legal System | date=January 2018 }}</ref> The French Civil Code was extended to Mauritius under the title ''Code Napoléon'' by decree of [[Charles Mathieu Isidore Decaen]], ''Capitaine-General'', on 21 April 1808.<ref>{{Cite web |title=electronic |url=https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/88152/114145/F-172904586/MUS88152%20Fre.pdf |website=www.ilo.org}}</ref> The Code was modified and embodied in Chapter 179 of the Revised Laws of Mauritius 1945, edited by Sir Charlton Lane, former Chief Justice of Mauritius. The 1808 decree was repealed by Act 9 of 1983, but the Revision of Laws Act which was enacted in 1974, made provision, in section 7, for the publication of the Code under the title "Code Civil Mauricien."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/r/natlex/fe/details?p3_isn=|title=NATLEX |website=natlex.ilo.org}}</ref>

In the United States, the legal system is largely based on [[English law|English common law]]. But the state of [[Louisiana]] is unique in being strongly influenced by French and Spanish legal traditions in [[Louisiana Civil Code|its civil code]]. Spanish and French colonial forces quarreled over Louisiana during most of the 1700s, with Spain ultimately ceding the territory to France in 1800, which in turn [[Louisiana Purchase|sold the territory to the United States]] in 1803.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://go.galegroup.com.libezp.lib.lsu.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CCX3446900575&v=2.1&u=lln_alsu&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w&asid=be47621d0f52559f686e81e7fc83d650|title = Napoleonic Code|date = 2006|access-date = 17 Feb 2016|website = Gale Virtual Reference Library|publisher = Charles Scribner's Sons|last = Bonfield|first = Lloyd}}</ref> The [[Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|10th Amendment]] to the U.S. Constitution grants states control of laws not specifically given to the federal government, so Louisiana's legal system retains many French elements. Examples of the practical legal differences between Louisiana and the other states include the [[Bar examination|bar exam]] and legal standards of practice for attorneys in Louisiana being significantly different from other states; Louisiana is the only U.S. state to practice [[Forced heirship|forced inheritance]] of an estate; additionally, some of Louisiana's laws clash with the [[Uniform Commercial Code]] practiced by the other 49 states.<ref>Engber, Daniel. [http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2005/09/louisianas_napoleon_complex.html Is Louisiana Under Napoleonic Code?] Slate.com, retrieved 11 September 2014</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Contemporary European law]]
* [[Labor Code (France)]]

==Notes==

<ref name=Foot01>{{cite book |author=Roberts, Andrew |title=Napoleon: A Life |publisher=Penguin |year=2014 |chapter=Lawgiver |mode=cs2}}. Of the commission's 107 plenary sessions, Napoleon chaired 55.</ref>

<ref name=Foot02>{{cite book |author=Roberts, Andrew |title=Napoleon: A Life |publisher=Penguin |year=2014 |chapter=Lawgiver |mode=cs2}}. It also failed in the [[Tribunate]].</ref>

<ref name=Foot03>{{cite book |author=Zamoyski, Adam |title=Napoleon: A Life |publisher=Basic Books|year=2018 |chapter=Caesar |mode=cs2}}. It was promulgated as the "Civil Code of the French" (''Code civil des Français''), but would be known as "the Napoleonic Code" (''Code Napoléon'')</ref>

==References==
* {{Cite book|last=Hollins|first=David|title='Battle of Marengo' in The Encyclopedia of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic War|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2006|isbn=1-85109-646-9}}
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===General and cited references===
* G. Levasseur, "Napoléon et l’élaboration des codes répressifs", in ''Mélanges en hommage à Jean Imbert'' (Paris, PUF, 1989) p.&nbsp;371
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060116023443/http://ledroitcriminel.free.fr/la_legislation_criminelle/anciens_textes.htm ''Code Pénal'' and ''Code d'Instruction Criminelle'' – Original French Texts and other old legislation]

==Further reading==
* Crabb, John H., trans. ''The French Civil Code'', revised ed. (as amended to 1 July 1994). Littleton, Colo.: Fred B. Rothman & Co.; Deventer, The Netherlands: Kluwer Law and Taxation, 1995.
* Fairgrieve, Duncan, ed. ''The Influence of the French Civil Code on the Common Law and Beyond''. London: British Institute of International and Comparative Law, 2007.
* Fisher, H. A. L. "The Codes", in ''Cambridge Modern History'', ed. A. W. Ward (1906). Vol. IX, pp. 148–179. An old standard scholarly summary. [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.55514 online free]
* Halperin, Jean-Louis. ''The French Civil Code''. Trans. Tony Weir. London: Routledge, 2006.
* Josselin, Jean-Michel, and Alain Marciano. "The Making of the French Civil Code: An Economic Interpretation". ''European Journal of Law and Economics'' 14.3 (2002): 193–203. [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alain_Marciano/publication/5145610_The_Making_of_the_French_Civil_Code_An_Economic_Interpretation/links/580f0e9a08aef766ef115982.pdf online]
* Lobingier, Charles Summer. "Napoleon and His Code". ''Harvard Law Rev.'' 32 (1918): 114+. [https://archive.org/details/jstor-1327640 online]
* Lydorf, Claudia (2012), [http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/crossroads/legal-families/claudia-lydorf-romance-legal-family?set_language=en&-C= Romance Legal Family], [http://www.ieg-ego.eu/ EGO – European History Online], Mainz: [http://www.ieg-mainz.de/likecms/index.php Institute of European History], retrieved: 25 March 2021 ([https://d-nb.info/1043606750/34 pdf]).
* Schwartz, Bernard, ed. ''The Code Napoleon and the common-law world: the sesquicentennial lectures delivered at the Law Center of New York University, December 13–15, 1954'' (The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., 1998). 438 pp.
* Séjean, Michel et al., eds. ''French civil code, 2020: English, French, Arabic''. Trans. David W. Gruning et al. LexisNexis; Paris: Sader Group, 2020.
* Smithers, William W. "The Code Napoléon". ''American Law Register'' (1901): 127–147. {{JSTOR|3306716}}.
* Tunc, André. "Grand Outlines of the Code Napoleon". ''Tulane Law Review'' 29 (1954): 431+.
* Tunc, André. "Husband and Wife Under French Law: Past, Present, Future". ''University of Pennsylvania Law Review'' 104 (1955): 1064+.[http://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7495&context=penn_law_review online]

==External links==
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Code Napoléon}}
* [http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/government/c_code.html English translation of the original text]
* {{Cite book |title=The Code Napoleon, or the French Civil Code; Literally Translated from the Original and Official Edition, Published at Paris, in 1804 by A Barrister at the Inner Temple |publisher= Printed for Charles Hunter Booksellers |place=London |edition=1st |url=https://archive.org/stream/codenapoleonorf00statgoog#page/n4/mode/2up |access-date=30 November 2016 |via=the [[Internet Archive]]}}
* [http://www.cambaceres.org/vie-poli/code-civ/cod-civi.htm Beginnings of Napoleonic Code]
* [https://beta.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/texte_lc/LEGITEXT000006070721/2021-07-01 Current French Text: Légifrance]{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140324190607/http://www.francemagazine.org/articles/issue70/article94.asp?issue_id=70&article_id=94 "The 'Other' Little Red Book"]. Interview with legal historian Jean-Louis Halpérin in ''[[France Magazine]]''.
* [https://frenchrevolution.us/napoleonic-code/ Napoleonic Code] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326101622/https://frenchrevolution.us/napoleonic-code/ |date=26 March 2024 }}

{{Civil codes by country|Europe}}
{{Napoleon}}
{{French Revolution}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Portal bar|Law|France}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Napoleonic Code}}
[[Category:1804 in law]]
[[Category:1804 establishments in France]]
[[Category:Civil codes]]
[[Category:Law of France]]
[[Category:Napoleon]]