The Napoleonic Code, officially the Code civil des Francais, is the French civil code established in 1804 under Napoleon Bonaparte, replacing a patchwork of feudal, regionally varying customary law and Roman-derived law that had differed across France before the Revolution. It embodied Enlightenment and revolutionary principles including legal equality, secular civil status, and freedom of contract, though it also entrenched significant limits on married women legal capacity that were not repealed for well over a century. It became the model civil code adopted or adapted by many nations during and after the Napoleonic era, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Quebec, Louisiana, and much of Latin America, making it one of the most influential legal texts in history.
Facts
EraEnacted 1804, under Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of France. 2 Promulgated ByNapoleon Bonaparte, and a drafting commission of four jurists he convened. 2 Classification
Legal Status Legal Status
Legal Status (category) Era
Era (category)19th Century (1800-1899) 2 Connections
Associated With
Source Law of France (Wikipedia)
Why this is disputed. Quebec's civil-law heritage descends from the French civil-law tradition, though the direct textual ancestor of the Civil Code of Lower Canada is the pre-revolutionary Custom of Paris rather than the Napoleonic Code itself; the two share a common French civil-law lineage.
Source Quebec Law (Wikipedia)
The Swiss Civil Code was partly influenced by the French Napoleonic Code alongside the German BGB.
Source Swiss Civil Code (Wikipedia)
In Legal System
Source Major Legal Systems in the World TodayRene David and John E.C. Brierley
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: France, found in there.
- Also in History Atlas: Napoleon Bonaparte, was influenced by this subject there.
Sources
1. Napoleonic Code (Wikipedia)
Lead section, second sentence
Although Napoleon himself was not directly involved in the drafting of the Code, as it was drafted by a commission of four eminent jurists, he chaired many of the commission's plenary sessions, and his support was crucial to its enactment.
Introduction, legal status
The Napoleonic Code, officially the Civil Code of the French, is the French civil code established during the French Consulate in 1804 and still in force in France, although heavily and frequently amended since its inception.
View the Source2. Major Legal Systems in the World Today
Rene David and John E.C. Brierley, Stevens and Sons, 1985
Wikidata: Napoleonic Code
Wikidata Q151060, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Swiss Civil Code (Wikipedia)
WikipediaAssociated With: Swiss Civil Code (ZGB), Influences sectionQuote, Associated With: Swiss Civil Code (ZGB), Influences section
largely influenced by the German civil code, and partly influenced by the French civil code.
Quebec Law (Wikipedia)
WikipediaAssociated With: Quebec Law
Law of France (Wikipedia)
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