Code of Napoleon: history of creation and basic provisions

The Civil Code, adopted in France in 1804 and called the Napoleonic Code, is one of the most important legal acts in the history of mankind. This is connected not only with the name of the legendary emperor, who himself took an active part in the creation of this document, but also with the enormous influence that he had on all European civil legislation.

After the events of the Great French Revolution, the whole legal and regulatory framework in this country has become rather confused: here, new revolutionary norms have intertwined with old royal laws that have already outlived their era. At the same time, for the overwhelming majority of the population, it was very important to legally fix the main achievements of the revolution and prevent a return to the old order. It was this task that Napoleon's Code was intended to solve.

The idea of this document ripened in the future emperor long enough. He was well aware that it was through the legislative registration of the basic civil rights of the French population that he would be able to stabilize the situation inside the society and give impetus to its further development. A special commission was created to prepare the project, the First Consul himself, Napoleon Bonaparte, took an active part in it. The main sources in the preparation of this code were the provisions of Roman private law and the Declaration of the rights of man and citizen. In March 1804 the Civil Code was adopted and entered into force.

The Napoleonic Code of 1804 includes three main parts. The first part is devoted to such institutions as marriage, guardianship, divorce, adoption. The most important principles of this section are the equality of citizens before the law and the inviolability of property rights.

It was the property issues that served as a stumbling block between the former owners and new owners. The Napoleonic Code resolved this problem once and for all, pointing out the inadmissibility of forcible redistribution of land and the seizure of other property objects.
The right to property continues to be dealt with in the second part. It specifically states that the disposal of their property should not harm others, and at the same time, no one can be forced to abandon their property. The state must take on the role of arbitrator in property disputes between citizens.

In its third part, the Napoleonic Code refers to contractual relations arising from the ownership right. First, in this section, the classification of transactions, among which the contracts of inheritance, purchase and sale and donation are particularly distinguished. Secondly, the conditions for the onset of contractual relations are determined, the most important of which can be considered voluntariness and legal equality of the parties.

The Civil Code of 1804 became the first code of law in France, uniform for the whole country. Subsequently, it was extended to all French colonies, and then was adopted in most European and American states.

At the same time, it should be noted that the Civil Code did not limit the legislative activity of the famous emperor. Not less famous was the Criminal Code of Napoleon, adopted in 1810 and created the legal basis for criminal prosecution of criminals.