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Napoleonic Code |
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First page of the 1804 original edition. |
Original title | Code civil des Français Code Napoléon |
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Date effective | 21 March 1804 (current version as of 28 August 2013) |
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The Napoleonic Code (French: Code Napoléon, and officially Code civil des Français) is the French civil code established under Napoléon I in 1804.[1]
It was drafted by a commission of four eminent jurists and entered into force on 21 March 1804.[2] The Code, with its stress on clearly written and accessible law, was a major step in replacing the previous patchwork of feudal laws. Historian Robert Holtman regards it as one of the few documents that have influenced the whole world.[2]
The Napoleonic Code was not the first legal code to be established in a European country with a civil legal system; it was preceded by the Codex Maximilianeus bavaricus civilis (Bavaria, 1756), the Allgemeines Landrecht (Prussia, 1794), and the West Galician Code (Galicia, then part of Austria, 1797). 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.[2] The Napoleonic Code influenced developing countries outside Europe, especially in the Middle East, attempting to modernize their countries through legal reforms.[3]
History[edit]
The categories of the Napoleonic Code were not drawn from earlier French laws, but instead from Justinian’s sixth-century codification of Roman law, the Corpus Juris Civilis and, within it, the Institutes.[4] The Institutes divide law into the law of:
Similarly, the Napoleonic Code divided law into law of:
- persons
- property
- acquisition of property
- civil procedure (moved into a separate code in 1806).
Napoleonic reforms[edit]
Napoleon set out to reform the French legal system in accordance with the ideas of the French Revolution, because the old feudal and royal laws seemed confusing and contradictory. Before the Napoleonic Code, France did not have a single set of laws; law consisted mainly of local customs, which had sometimes been officially compiled in "customals" (coutumes), notably the Custom of Paris. There were also exemptions, privileges, and special charters granted by the kings or other feudal lords. During the Revolution, the last vestiges of feudalism were abolished.
Specifically, as to civil law, the many different bodies of law used in different parts of France were replaced by a single legal code. Jean-Jacques Régis de Cambacérès led this drafting process. His drafts of 1793 (for which he had been given a one-month deadline), 1794, and 1799, however, were adopted only piecemeal by a National Convention more concerned about the turmoil resulting from the various wars and strife with other European powers.
A fresh start was made after Napoleon came to power in 1799. A commission of four eminent jurists was appointed in 1800, including Louis-Joseph Faure and chaired by Cambacérès (now Second Consul), and sometimes by the First Consul, Napoleon himself. The Code was complete by 1801, after intensive scrutiny by the Council of State, but was not published until 21 March 1804. It was promulgated as the "Civil Code of the French" (Code civil des Français), but was renamed "the Napoleonic Code" (Code Napoléon) from 1807 to 1815, and once again after the Second French Empire.
The process developed mainly out of the various customals, but was inspired by Justinian’s sixth-century codification of Roman law, the Corpus Iuris 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 only legislation; it was not a collection of edited extracts, but a comprehensive rewrite; its structure was much more rational; it had no religious content; and it was written in the vernacular.
The development of the Napoleonic Code was a fundamental change in the nature of the civil law system, making laws clearer and 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 legislative and not of 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. There is no rule of stare decisis (binding precedent) in French law, but decisions by important courts have become more or less equivalent to case law (see jurisprudence constante).
Contents of the Napoleonic Code[edit]
The preliminary article of the Code established certain important provisions regarding the rule of law. Laws could be applied only if they had been duly promulgated, and then only if they had been published officially (including provisions for publishing delays, given the means of communication available at the time). Thus, no secret laws were authorized. It prohibited ex post facto laws (i.e. laws that apply to events that occurred before their introduction). The code also prohibited judges from refusing justice on grounds of insufficiency of the law, thereby encouraging them to interpret the law. On the other hand, it prohibited judges from passing general judgments of a legislative value (see above).
With regard to family, the Code established the supremacy of the man over the wife and children, which was the general legal situation in Europe at the time.[5] A woman was given fewer rights than a minor. Divorce by mutual consent was abolished in 1804.[6]
Other French codes of Napoleon's era[edit]
Military code[edit]
The Draft on Military Code was presented to Napoleon by the Special Commission headed by Pierre Daru in June 1805; however, as the War Against the Third Coalition progressed, the Code was put aside and never implemented.
Criminal code[edit]
In 1791, Louis Michel le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau presented a new criminal code to the national Constituent Assembly.[7] He explained that it outlawed only “true crimes”, and not “phony offenses created by superstition, feudalism, the tax system, and [royal] despotism”.[8] He did not list the crimes "created by superstition". The new penal code did not mention blasphemy, heresy, sacrilege, witchcraft or homosexuality, which led to these former offences being swiftly decriminalized. In 1810, a new criminal code was issued under Napoleon. As with the Penal Code of 1791, it did not contain provisions against religious crimes.
Code of civil procedure[edit]
As the entire legal system was being overhauled, the code of civil procedure was adopted in 1806.
Commercial code[edit]
The commercial code (code de commerce) was adopted in 1807.[9] The kernel of the commercial code is the BOOK III, "Of The Different Modes Of Acquiring Property", of the Napoleonic Code. It is a norm about the contracts and transactions.
Code of criminal instruction[edit]
In 1808, a code of criminal instruction (code d'instruction criminelle) was published. This code laid out criminal procedure. The parlement system, from before the Revolution, had been guilty of much abuse, while the criminal courts established by the Revolution were a complex and ineffective system, subject to many local pressures. The genesis of this code resulted in much debate. The resulting code is the basis of the modern so-called "inquisitorial system" of criminal courts, used in France and many civil law countries, though significantly changed since Bonaparte's day (especially with regard to the expansion of the rights of the defendant).
The French Revolution's Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen declared that suspects were presumed to be innocent until they had been declared guilty by a court. A concern of Bonaparte's was the possibility of arbitrary arrest, or excessive remand (imprisonment prior to a trial). Bonaparte remarked that care should be taken to preserve personal freedoms, especially when the case was before the Imperial Court: "these courts would have a great strength, they should be prohibited from abusing this situation against weak citizens without connections." However, remand still was the usual procedure for defendants suspected of serious crimes such as murder.
The possibility of lengthy remand periods was one reason why the Napoleonic Code was criticized for its de facto presumption of guilt, particularly in common law countries. Another reason was the combination of magistrate and prosecutor in one position.[10] However, the legal proceedings did not have de jure presumption of guilt; for instance, the juror’s oath explicitly required that the jury not betray the interests of the defendants and not ignore the means of defense.
The rules governing court proceedings, by today’s standards, gave significant power to the prosecution; however, criminal justice in European countries in those days tended to side with repression. For instance, it was only in 1836 that prisoners charged with a felony were given a formal right to counsel, in England. In comparison, article 294 of the Napoleonic Code of Criminal Procedure allowed the defendant to have a lawyer before the Court of Assizes (judging felonies), and mandated the court to appoint a lawyer for the defendant if the defendant did not have one (failure to do so rendered the proceedings null).
Whether or not the Cour d'assisess, whose task was to judge severe crimes, were to operate with a jury was a topic of considerable controversy. Bonaparte supported jury trials (or petit jury), and they were finally adopted. On the other hand, Bonaparte was opposed to the indictment jury ("grand jury" of common law countries), and preferred to give this task to the criminal division of the Court of Appeals. Some special courts were created to judge of criminals who could intimidate the jury.
Bonaparte also insisted that the courts judging civil and criminal cases should be the same, if only to give them more prestige.
The French codes in the 21st century[edit]
The French codes, now more than 60 in number,[11] are frequently amended, as well as 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).[12] These editions consist of thorough annotations, with references to other codes, relevant statutes, 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".[13]
The sheer number of codes, together with digitisation, led the Commission supérieure de codification to reflect in its annual report for 2011:
- 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.[14]
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.[15] The government responded encouragingly in March 2013, but the Commission complains that this has not been followed through; in particular, that the government has abandoned its plan for a public service code (code général de la fonction publique).[16]
Codes in other countries[edit]
Even though the Napoleonic Code was not the first civil code and did not represent the whole of his empire, it was one of the most influential. It was adopted in many countries occupied by the French during the Napoleonic Wars, and thus formed the basis of the private law systems of Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Portugal (and their former colonies), and Poland (1808–1946). In the German regions on the west bank of the Rhine (Rhenish Palatinate and Prussian Rhine Province), the former Duchy of Berg and the Grand Duchy of Baden, the Napoleonic Code was in use until the introduction of the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch in 1900 as the first common civil code for the entire German Empire.[17]
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 liberal (enlightened despotism) rulers, nativism (local patriotism) among the governing elites, and popular anti-French sentiment.[17]
A civil code with strong Napoleonic influences was also adopted in 1864 in Romania, and remained in force until 2011.[18] The Code was also adopted in Egypt as part of the system of mixed courts introduced in Egypt after the fall of Khedive Ismail. The Code was translated into Arabic from the French by Youssef Wahba Pasha between 1881 and 1883. Other codes with some influence in their own right were the Swiss, German, and Austrian codes, but even therein some influence of the French code can be felt, as the Napoleonic Code is considered the first successful codification.
Thus, the civil law systems of the countries of modern continental Europe, with the exception of Russia and the Scandinavian countries have, to different degrees, been influenced by the Napoleonic Code. The legal systems of the United Kingdom other than Scotland, as well as Ireland and the Commonwealth, are derived from English common law rather than from Roman roots. Scots law, though also a civil law system, is uncodified; it was strongly influenced by Roman-Dutch legal thought, and after the Act of Union 1707, by English law.
In the Persian Gulf Arab states of the Middle East, the influence of the Napoleonic Code mixed with hints of Islamic law is clear, even in Saudi Arabia (which abides more towards Islamic law). In Kuwait, for example, property rights, women’s rights, and the education system can be seen as Islamic reenactments of the French civil code. Some of these aspects can be seen in other Persian Gulf Arab states (although less pronounced than in Kuwait), this primarily being due to the relatively democratic nature of Kuwait, rather than the absolutist nature of many other Persian Gulf nations.[citation needed]
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 Coutume de Paris, which the British continued to use in Canada following the Treaty of Paris in 1763. Most of the laws in Latin American countries are also heavily based on the Napoleonic Code, e.g. the Chilean Civil Code and the Puerto Rican Civil Code.[19]
In the United States, whose legal system is largely based on English common law, the state of Louisiana is unique in having a strong influence from Napoleonic Code and Spanish legal traditions on 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 sold the territory to the United States in 1803).[20] Examples of the practical legal differences between Louisiana and the other states include the bar exam and legal standards of practice for attorneys in Louisiana being significantly different from other states; Louisiana being the only American state to practice forced heirship of a deceased person's estate; and some of Louisiana's laws clashing with the Uniform Commercial Code practiced by the other 49 states.[21]
Popular culture[edit]
References[edit]
- Jump up ^ Code civil des français: édition originale et seule officielle. Paris: L'Impremerie de la République. XII. 1804. Retrieved November 28, 2016 – via Gallica.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Robert B. Holtman, The Napoleonic Revolution (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1981)
- Jump up ^ Mohamed A.M. Ismail (2016). Globalization and New International Public Works Agreements in Developing Countries: An Analytical Perspective. Routledge. p. 19. ISBN 9781317127031 – via Google Books.
All civil codes of Arab Middle Eastern states are based on Napoleonic Codes and were influenced by Egyptian legislation
- Jump up ^ Iain Stewart (2012). "Mors Codicis: End of the Age of Codification?". Tulane European & Civil Law Forum. 27: 17 at 23–24.
- Jump up ^ Smith, Bonnie (2006). "Gender". Gale Virtual Reference Library. Charles Scribner's Sons. Retrieved 17 Feb 2016.
- Jump up ^ "The Code Napoléon: French Legislation on Divorce," Exploring the European Past: Texts & Images, Second Edition, ed. Timothy E. Gregory (Mason: Thomson, 2007), 62-64.
- Jump up ^ "Livre III ... du code pénal". Choix de rapports, opinions et discours prononcés à la tribune nationale (in French). VI. Paris: A. Eymery. 1819. p. 320. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
- Jump up ^ “ces délits factices, créés par la superstition, la féodalité, la fiscalité et le despotisme” (id., p 325).
- Jump up ^ Code de commerce Retrieved 2011-12-30
- Jump up ^ "French Criminal Procedure". New York Times. 14 April 1895. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
- Jump up ^ "Recherche simple dans les codes en vigueur - Legifrance". legifrance.gouv.fr.
- Jump up ^ "Code civil, Code du travail, tous les livres de droit des Editions Dalloz". dalloz.fr.
- Jump up ^ Iain Stewart (2012). "Mors Codicis: End of the Age of Codification?". Tulane European & Civil Law Forum. 27: 17 at 24–25.
- Jump up ^ Commission supérieure de codification, Vingt et unième rapport annuel 2010 (Paris, 2011), 13; quoted and translated, Iain Stewart (2012). "Mors Codicis: End of the Age of Codification?". Tulane European & Civil Law Forum. 27: 17 at 25.
- Jump up ^ Commission supérieure de codification, Vingt-deuxième rapport annuel 2011 (Paris, 2012), 21.
- Jump up ^ Commission supérieure de codification, Vingt-quatrième rapport annuel 2013 (Paris, 2014), 6-7.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Arvind TT; Stirton L (March 2010). "Explaining the Reception of the Code Napoleon in Germany: a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis". Legal Studies. 30 (1): 1–29. doi:10.1111/j.1748-121X.2009.00150.x.
- Jump up ^ "Noul Cod civil promovează medierea". 2013-05-05. Retrieved 2013-05-31.
- Jump up ^ Rabel, Ernst (1950), "Private Laws of Western Civilization: Part II. The French Civil Code", Louisiana Law Review, 10, p. 110, retrieved December 1, 2016
- Jump up ^ Bonfield, Lloyd (2006). "Napoleonic Code". Gale Virtual Reference Library. Charles Scribner's Sons. Retrieved 17 Feb 2016.
- Jump up ^ Engber, Daniel. Is Louisiana Under Napoleonic Code? Slate.com, retrieved 11 September 2014
- Notes
External links[edit]
■The Civil Code
Napoleon in later life considered the Civil Code to be the most significant of his achievements. The Code represented a comprehensive reformation and codification of the French civil laws. Under the ancien regime more than 400 codes of laws were in place in various parts of France, with common law predominating in the north and Roman law in the south. The Revolution overturned many of these laws. In addition, the revolutionary governments had enacted more than 14,000 pieces of legislation. Five attempts were made to codify the new laws of France during the periods of the National Convention and the Directory. Through the efforts of Napoleon the drafting the new Civil Code in an expert commission, in which Jean-Etienne-Marie Portalis took a leading role, took place in the second half of 1801. Napoleon attended in person 36 of the commission's 87 meetings. Although the draft was completed at the end of 1801, the Code was not published until 21 March 1804. The Civil Code represents a typically Napoleonic mix of liberalism and conservatism, although most of the basic revolutionary gains - equality before the law, freedom of religion and the abolition of feudalism - were consolidated within its laws. Property rights, including the rights of the purchasers of the biens nationaux were made absolute. The Code also reinforced patriarchal power by making the husband the ruler of the household. The Napoleonic Code was to be promulgated, with modifications, throughout the Empire. The Civil Code was followed by a Code of Civil Procedure in 1806, a Commercial Code in 1807, a Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure in 1808 and a Penal Code in 1810. A Rural Code was debated, but never promulgated. The Code Napoleon, renamed the Civil Code, was retained in its majority after the restoration of the Bourbons in 1815. The Civil Code has served as the model for the codes of law of more than twenty nations throughout the world.
PRELIMINARY TITLE. OF THE PUBLICATION, EFFECT, AND APPLICATION OF THE LAWS IN GENERAL
BOOK I. Of Persons.
TITLE I. OF THE ENJOYMENT AND PRIVATION OF CIVIL RIGHTS
CHAPTER I. Of the enjoyment of civil rights
CHAPTER II. Of the privation of civil rights
Section 1. Of the privation of civil rights by the loss of the quality of Frenchman
Section 2. Of the privation of civil rights in consequence of judicial proceedings
TITLE II. OF ACTS BEFORE THE CIVIL AUTHORITIES
TITLE III. OF DOMICIL
TITLE IV. OF ABSENT PERSONS
CHAPTER I. Of presumption of absence
CHAPTER II. Of the declaration of absence
CHAPTER III. Of the effects of absence
Section 1. Of the effects of absence, as respects the property possessed by the absentee at the date of his disappearance
Section 2. Of the effects of absence with regard to eventual rights which may belong to the absentee
Section 3. Of the effects of absence, as they relate to marriage
CHAPTER IV. Of tbe superintendence of minors whose father has disappeared
TITLE V. OF MARRIAGE
TITLE VI. OF DIVORCE
CHAPTER I. Of the causes of divorce
CHAPTER II. Of the divorce for cause determinate
Section 1. Of the forms of the divorce for cause determinate
Section 2. Of the provisional measures to which the petition for divorce for cause determinate may give rise
Section 3. Of exceptions at law against the suit for divorce for cause determinate
CHAPTER III. Of divorce by mutual consent
CHAPTER IV. Of the effects of divorce
CHAPTER V. Of the separation of persons
TITLE VII. OF PATERNITY AND FILIATION
CHAPTER I. Of the filiation of legitimate children, or those born in marriage
CHAPTER II. Of the proofs of the filiation of legitimate children
CHAPTER III. Of natural children
Section 1. Of the legitimation of natural children
Section 2. Of the acknowledgment of natural children
TITLE VIII. OF ADOPTION AND FRIENDLY GUARDIANSHIP
TITLE IX. OF PATERNAL POWER
TITLE X. 0F MINORITY, GUARDIANSHIP, AND EMANCIPATION
TITLE XI. OF MAJORITY, INTERDICTION, AND THE JUDICIAL ADVISER
BOOK II. Of Property, and the Different Modifications of Property.
TITLE I. OF THE DISTINCTION OF PROPERTY
TITLE II. OF PROPERTY
CHAPTER I. Of the right of accession over the produce of any thing
CHAPTER II. Of the right of accession over what is connected and incorporated with any thing
Section 1. Of the right of accession relatively to things immoveable
Section 2. Of the right of accession relatively to moveable property
TITLE III. OF USUFRUCT, RIGHT OF COMMON, AND OF HABITATION
TITLE IV. OF SERVITUDES OR MANORIAL SERVICES
CHAPTER I. Of servitudes derived from the situation of places
CHAPTER II. Of servitudes established by law
Section 1. Of the party-wall and ditch
Section 2. Of the distance and intermediary works required for certain buildings
Section 3. Of views over a neighbor's property
Section 4. Of the droppings of house-eaves
Section 5. Of the right of way
CHAPTER III. Of servitudes established by the act of man
Section 1. Of the different species of servitudes which may be established over property
Section 2. Of the mode of establishing servitudes
Section 3. Of the rights of the proprietor of the estate to which the servitude is due
Section 4. Of the manner in which servitudes are extinguished
BOOK III. Of the Different Modes of Acquiring Property.
GENERAL DISPOSITIONS
TITLE I. OF SUCCESSIONS
CHAPTER I. Of the opening of successions and of the seisin of heirs
CHAPTER II. Of the qualities requisite to succeed
CHAPTER III. Of the different orders of succession
Section 1. General dispositions
Section 2. Of representation
Section 3. Of successions devolving upon descendants
Section 4. Of successions devolving upon ancestors
Section 5. Of collateral successions
CHAPTER IV. Of irregular successions
Section 1. Of the rights of natural children over the property of their father or mother, and of the succession to natural children dead without issue
Section 2. Of the rights of the surviving conjunct and of the republic
CHAPTER V. Of the acceptance and repudiation of successions
Section 1. Of acceptance
Section 2. Of the renunciation of successions
Section 3. Of the privilege of inventory, of its effects, and of the obligations of the beneficiary heir
Section 4. Of vacant successions
CHAPTER VI. Of division and restitution
Section 1. Of the action for division and of its form
Section 2. Of restitutions
Section 3. Of payment of debts
Section 4. Of the effects of distribution and of the warranty of the lots
Section 5. Of annulment of distribution
TITLE II. OF DONATIONS DURING LIFE AND OF WILLS
CHAPTER I. General regulations
CHAPTER II. Of the capability of disposing or of receiving by donation during life or by will
CHAPTER III. Of the disposable portion of goods, and of reduction
Section 1. Of the disposable portion of goods
Section 2. Of the reduction of donations and legacies
CHAPTER IV. Of donations during life
Section 1. Of the form of donations during life
Section 2. Of exceptions to the rule on the irrevocability of donations during life
CHAPTER V. Of testamentary dispositions
Section 1. Of general rules on the form of wills
Section 2. Of particular rules touching the form of certain wills
Section 3. Of appointment of heir, and of legacies in general
Section 4. Of the general legacy
Section 5. Of legacy by general title
Section 6. Of particular legacies
Section 7. Of testamentary executors
Section 8. Of the revocation and of the lapse of wills
CHAPTER VI. Of dispositions permitted in favor of the grand-children of the donor or testator, or of the children of their brothers and sisters
CHAPTER VII. Of distributions made by the father, mother, or other ancestors, among their descendants
CHAPTER VIII. Of donations made by the marriage-contract to the parties, and to children to he born of the marriage
CHAPTER IX. Of dispositions between married persons, either by contract of marriage, or during marriage
TITLE III. OF CONTRACTS OR CONVENTIONAL OBLIGATIONS IN GENERAL
CHAPTER I. Preliminary regulations
CHAPTER II. Of conditions essential to the Validity of agreements
Section 1. Of consent
Section 2. Of the capacity of the contracting parties
Section 3. Of the object and matter of contracts
Section 4. Of the cause
CHAPTER III. Of the effect of obligations
Section 1. General regulations
Section 2. Of the obligation of giving
Section 3. Of the obligation to do or not to do
Section 4. Of damages and interest resulting from the non-performance of the obligation
Section 5. Of the interpretation of agreements
Section 6. Of the effect of agreements as respects third persons
CHAPTER IV. Of the different species of obligations
Section 1. Of conditional obligations
1. Of conditions generally, and of their different kinds
2. Of the suspensive condition
3. Of the condition dissolutory
Section 2. Of obligations for a term
Section 3. Of alternative obligations
Section 4. Of obligations joint and several
1. Of creditors jointly and severally interested
2. Of debtors jointly and severally interested
Section 5. Of obligations divisible and indivisible
1. Of the effects of the divisible obligation
2. Of the effects of an indivisible obligation
Section 6. Of obligations with penal clauses
CHAPTER 5. Of the extinction of obligations
Section 1. Of payment
1. Of payment in general
2. Of payment with substitution
3. Of the application of payments
4. Of tenders of payment, and of deposit
5. Of the cession of property
Section 2. Of novation
Section 3. Of the remission of a debt
Section 4. Of compensation
Section 5. Of confusion
Section 6. Of the loss of the thing due
Section 7. Of the action for nullity, or for rescission of agreements
CHAPTER 6. Of the proof of obligations and of that of payment
Section 1. Of literal proof
1. Of an authentic document
2. Of an act under private signature
3. Of tallies
4. Of copies of documents
5. Of acts of recognition and confirmation
Section 2. Of testimonial proof
Section 3. Of presumptions
1. Of presumptions established by law
2. Of presumptions which are not established by law
Section 4. Of the acknowledgment of the party
Section 5. Of oath
1. Of the oath decisory
2. Of the oath officially administered
TITLE IV. OF ENGAGEMENTS WHICH ARE FORMED WITHOUT CONTRACT
TITLE V. OF THE CONTRACT OF MARRIAGE AND OF THE RESPECTIVE RIGHTS OF MARRIED PERSONS
Part 1. Of legal community
Section 1. Of that which composes community actively and passively
1. Of the active part of community
2. Of the passive part of community, and of actions which result therefrom against the community
Section 2. Of the administration of the community, and of the effect of the acts of either of the married parties relating to the conjugal union
Section 3. Of the dissolution of community and of some of its consequences
Section 4. Of the acceptance of community, and of the renunciation which may be made thereof, with the conditions relating thereto
Section 5. Of the distribution of the community after acceptance
1. Of the partition of the active
2. Of the passive in the community, and of contribution to debts
Section 6. Of the renunciation of community and of its effects
Regulation relative to legal community, when one of the married parties or both of them have children of previous marriages
Part 2. Of conventional community, and of agreements which may modify and even exclude legal community
Section 1. Of community confined to property acquired
Section 2. Of the clause which excludes from the community the moveable property in whole or in part
Section 3. Of the clause making moveable
Section 4. Of the article of separation of debts
Section 5. Of the power granted to the wife of resuming her contribution free and unencumbered
Section 6. Of conventional reversion (preciput)
Section 7. Of the articles by which unequal portions in the community are assigned to either of the married parties
Section 8. Of community by general title
Regulations common to the eight preceding sections
Section 9. Of agreements excluding community
1. Of the clause implying that the parties marry without community
2. Of the clause of separation of property
CHAPTER III. Of regulation of dowry
Section 1. Of settlement of dowry
Section 2. Of the rights of the husband over the property in dowry, and of the inalienable nature of the funds of the dower
Section 3. Of the restitution of dower
Section 4. Of paraphernalia Particular regulation
TITLE VI. OF SALES
TITLE VII. OF BARTER
TITLE VIII. OF THE CONTRACT OF HIRING
TITLE IX. OF THE CONTRACT OF PARTNERSHIP
CHAPTER I. General ordinances
CHAPTER II. Of the different species of partnerships
Section 1. Of general partnerships
Section 2. Of particular partnerships
CHAPTER III. Of the engagements of partners among themselves, and with regard to third persons
Section 1. Of the engagements of partners to each other
Section 2. Of the engagements of partners with respect to third persons
CHAPTER IV. Of the different modes by which partnership is put an end to Disposition relative to commercial partnerships
TITLE X. OF LOANS
TITLE XI. OF DEPOSIT AND SEQUESTRATION
TITLE XII. OF ALEATORY CONTRACTS
TITLE XIII. OF PROCURATION
TITLE XIV. OF SECURITY
TITLE XV. OF THE COMPOUNDING OF ACTIONS
TITLE XVI. OF PERSONAL ARREST IN A CIVIL MATTER
TITLE XVII. OF PLEDGING
TITLE XVIII. OF PRIVILEGES AND MORTGAGES
CHAPTER I. General enactments
CHAPTER II. Of privileges
Section 1. Of privileges over moveables
1. Of general privileges over moveables
2. Of privileges over certain moveables
Section 2. Of privileges over immoveables
Section 3. Of privileges which extend over moveables as well as immoveables
Section 4. Of the manner in which privileges are preserved
CHAPTER III. Of mortgages
Section 1. Of legal mortgages
Section 2. Of judicial mortgages
Section 3. Of conventional mortgages
Section 4. Of the order of mortgages with regard to each other
CHAPTER IV. Of the mode of enrolment of privileges and mortgages
CHAPTER V. Of cancelling and reducing enrolments
CHAPTER VI. Of the effect of privileges and mortgages against third persons in wrongful possession
CHAPTER VII. Of the extinction of privileges and mortgages
CHAPTER VIII. Of the mode of clearing property of privileges and mortgages
CHAPTER IX. Of the mode of exonerating from mortgages, where no enrolment exist, over the property of husbands and guardians
CHAPTER X. Of the publicity of the registers, and of the responsibility of the keepers
TITLE XIX. OF FORCIBLE EJECTMENT, AND OF THE ORDER AMONG CREDITORS
CHAPTER I. Of forcible ejectment
CHAPTER II. Of the order and distribution of the price among the creditors
TITLE XX. OF PRESCRIPTION
Bibliography
Code Napoleon; or, The French Civil Code. Literally Translated from the Original and Official Edition, Published at Paris, in 1804. By a Barrister of the Inner Temple. Translation attributed to George Spence (cf. Cushing's Anonyms: A Dictionary of Revealed Authorship and Halkett & Laing's Dictionary of Anonymous and Pseudonymous English Literature and in the Dictionary of National Biography). London: Published by William Benning, Law Bookseller, 1827. xix, 627 pages.