Changes

__NOTOC__

The French Civil Code<ref>Commonly also referred to as Napoleonic code</ref> was enacted on March 21, 1804. The Code represents a comprehensive reformation and codification of the French civil law and was considered by Napoleon himself to be one of his most significant achievements. Nowadays it remains a strong legal, sociological and cultural landmark for the French nation. And in spite of some revisions that were introduced later, the Napoleonic code is still very applicable in the French Republic and Law today.

==Origins of the Civil Code and forces behind codification==

The main instigator for the promulgation of the Civil Code was Napoleon Bonaparte, the first Consul of France. However, the demand for codification and clarification itself precede the Napoleonic era. Diversity of laws was the dominant characteristic of the pre-revolutionary legal order. Roman law governed in the south of France, whereas in the northern provinces<ref>including Paris</ref> a customary law had developed and dominated, based largely on feudal Frankish and Germanic institutions. Marriage and family were entirely under the control of the Roman Catholic Church and its cannon law. In addition, a wide range of matters were governed by royal decrees and ordinances as well as by case law.

The influence of the Napoleonic Code has diminished at the turn of the century by the introduction of the German Civil Code and the Swiss Civil Code. However, more than two centuries after its promulgation, the Napoleonic Code is still living law in a great number of countries across the world. Considered to be the first successful universal codification since Justinian, it has influenced the civil law systems of modern continental European countries. Even today the French Civil Code of 1804 has not been significantly changed and in many ways it is the most enduring legacy of the French Revolution.

==References==