Royal University of Law and Economics French Civil Code Napoleonic Code Subject: International Civil Litigation Procedure Lecturer: Professor Mateuse Prorok Presented by: Thy Lyda Tourk Sovanotdom Nuon Rithyrach

Contents Introduction What is French Civil Code? History Purposes Specification of French Civil Code Development and Influence

Introduction After four years of debate planning, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte enacts a new legal framework for France called "Napoleonic Code". The Civil Code gave post-revolutionary France its first coherent set of laws concerning property, colonial affairs, the family, and individual rights.

What is French Civil Code History The Napoleonic Code (French Civil Code) enacted under Napoleon I on March 21, 1804. It was the main influence on 19th -century Civil Code of most countries continental Europe and Latin-America.

What is French Civil Code Purposes To create one code for French To reform the French legal code to reflect the principal of the French revolution Freedom of religion The feudal system was eliminated Equality before the law is established Right to property was given Slave and manorial was eliminated

Specification of French Civil Code The creation process of the Civil Code was inspired by Justinian's sixth- century codification of Roman law, however, it differed from Justinian's in some important ways: it incorporated all kinds of earlier rules, not only legislation. It was a comprehensive rewrite with a more rational structure and no religious content. The development was a fundamental change in the nature of the civil law system, making laws clearer and more accessible.

Specification of French Civil Code The principles incorporated in the Napoleonic Code were written in 3 main books containing more than 25 Titles and over 100 Chapters. The first book of the Code deals with the law of persons: the enjoyment of civil rights, the protection of personality, guardianship, relations of parents and children, marriage, personal relations of spouses, and the dissolution of marriage be annulment or divorce. The code subordinated women to their fathers and husbands, who controlled all family property, determined the fate of children and were favoured in divorce proceedings.

Specification of French Civil Code The second book deals with the law of things: the regulation of property rights – ownership, usufruct and servitudes. The third book deals with the methods of acquiring rights: by succession, donation, marriage settlement and obligations. In the last chapters, the code regulates a number of nominate contracts, legal and conventional mortgages, limitations of actions and prescriptions of rights.

Development and Influence The code was originally introduced into areas under French control in 1804: Belgium, Luxembourg, parts of western Germany, northwestern Italy, Geneva, and Monaco. It was later introduced into territories conquered by Napoleon: Italy, the Netherlands, the Hanseatic lands, and much of the remainder of western Germany and Switzerland. The code is still in use in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Monaco. During the 19th century, the Napoleonic Code was voluntarily adopted in a number of European and Latin American countries, either in the form of simple translation or with considerable modifications.

Development and Influence The influence of the Napoleonic Code was lowered at the turn of the century by the introduction of the German Civil Code (1900) and the Swiss Civil Code (1912). More than two centuries after its declaration, the Napoleonic Code is still living law in a great part of the world.

Thank You! “ My real glory is not the forty battles I won, for Waterloo’s defeat will destroy the memory of as many victories.…What nothing will destroy, what will live forever, is my Civil Code. ” – Napoleon, 1814

Reference https://dailyhistory.org/Why_has_the_French_Civil_Code_had_a_lasting_i nfluence_on_contemporary_European_law%3F#cite_note-5