In the aftermath of the brutal early days of the French Revolution, Napoleon launched a codification of laws that established the civil and criminal legal system in France. The Napoleonic Code, as it came to be known, influenced many countries throughout Europe with fundamentals that addressed proper procedure for the judicial system and the fair processing of indictments. With the code, society was revolutionized and its effects are still felt today.
With the abandonment of feudal and royal laws and hundreds of local laws in effect depending on the area in France you were in, there was no consistent set of laws in France to turn to.
Work began in 1800 and on March 21, 1804, the Napoleonic Code was established by four jurists and became enforced as the French civil code upon which the society was based. The code was updated in the following years with additional definition to procedures. The most prevalent was the Code of Criminal Instruction established in 1808, which allowed for trial by jury, right to counsel, and the right to be innocent until proven guilty.
The Napoleonic Code was based heavily on the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen as well as Roman law. The first code provided for the fact that all laws must be published and no secret laws could exist. It also prevented ex post facto laws and prohibited judges from legislating from the bench, encouraging them to interpret the laws that were in place.
Napoleonic Code addressed concerns over religion, moving in a strong secular position. Crimes of religion such as heresy, sacrilege and witchcraft were not allowed and divorce was deemed a civil manner. Later additions also focused on how to process an indictment, preventing people from being imprisoned without trial and the right to a lawyer.
Although not the first set of civil laws in Europe, the Napoleonic Code was the most detailed and specific of its era. It was the most elaborate establishment of private laws of a people with an emphasis on the differences between civil and criminal acts. Its focus on the legal process along with the limits of the judicial branch to influence or enforce laws aligned France with the democratic process similar to the American code of laws.
Having gone through the difficult changes of the French Revolution, Napoleon understood that a simple set of laws was needed to establish equality in the nation. With the promise of the Revolution being realized, the Napoleonic Code gave the country a fundamental faith in the rule of law and a society in which they could believe. As Napoleon advanced his armies and spread his influence across Europe, his code allowed the citizens of the countries he dominated to be treated as equals and feel the benefits of written laws.
With the Napoleonic wars spreading the French Empire across Europe, nations that came under Napoleon’s influence adopted the code as the basis for their laws. Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Belgium all cite the Napoleonic Code as the basis for their laws. Romania has had the code on its books consistently since 1864.
