Code Napoleon

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Code Napoléon

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Code Napoléon or Code Civil , first modern legal code of France, promulgated by Napoleon I in 1804. The work of J. J. Cambacérès and a commission of four appointed by Napoleon I in 1800 was important in making the final draft. The Code Napoléon embodied the private law of France (i.e., law regulating relations between individuals) and, as modified by amendments, it is still in force in that country. It is a revised form of the Roman law , i.e., the civil law , which prevailed generally on the Continent. It shows, of course, many specific French modifications, some based on the Germanic law that had been in effect in N France. The code follows the Institutes of the Roman Corpus Juris Civilis in dividing civil law into personal status (e.g., marriage), property (e.g., easements), and the acquisition of property (e.g., wills), and it may be regarded as the first modern analogue to the Roman work. Not only was it applied by Napoleon to the territories under his control—N Italy, the Low Countries, and some of the German states—but it exerted a strong influence on Spain (and ultimately on the Latin American countries) and on all European countries except England. It was the forerunner, in France and elsewhere, of codifications of the other branches of law, including civil procedure, commercial law, and criminal law. Quebec prov. and the state of Louisiana owe much of their law to the Code Napoléon. In addition to the Code Civil, Napoleon was responsible for four other codes: the Code of Civil Procedure (1807), Commercial Code (1808), Code of Criminal Procedure (1811), and the Penal Code (1811).

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Code Napoléon

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | © World Encyclopedia 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Code Napoléon French civil law, first introduced (1804) by Napoleon I. Based on Roman law, the Code was intended to end the disunity of French law and was applied to all French territories. It banned social inequality, permitted freedom of person and contract and upheld the right to own private property. It was revised in 1904 and remains the basis of French civil law.

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Free Article The Man Who Broke Napoleon's Codes: the True Story of a Forgotten Hero in Wellington's Army.(Book review)
Magazine article from: The Historian; 6/22/2008
Free Article The Napoleonic code.(The Age of Napoleon)(Book Review)
Magazine article from: New Criterion; 6/1/2004
Free Article Europe under Napoleon, 1799-1815.(Review)(Brief Article)
Magazine article from: The Historian; 1/1/1999

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