The Napoleonic Code (French: Code Napoléon, and officially Code civil des Français) is the French civil code established under Napoléon I in 1804. The code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs should go to the most qualified.

It was drafted by a commission of four eminent jurists and entered into force on 21 March 1804. 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.

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. The Napoleonic Code was very influential on developing countries outside of Europe, especially in the Middle East, that were attempting to modernize their countries through legal reforms.

The Civil Code of the Philippines is the product of the codification of private law in the Philippines. It is the general law that governs family and property relations in the Philippines. It was enacted in 1950, and remains in force to date despite some significant amendments.

History

The Philippine Civil Code is strongly influenced by the Spanish Código Civil, which was first enforced in 1889 within the Philippines, then a colony of the Kingdom of Spain. The Código Civil remained in effect even throughout the American Occupation, however by 1940 the Commonwealth Government of President Manuel Luis Quezón, (Manuel Luís Quezon) formed a Commission tasked with drafting a new Civil Code. The Commission was initially headed by Chief Justice Ramón Avanceña, but its work was interrupted by the Japanese invasion and the Second World War, while its records were destroyed during the Battle of Manila in 1945.

In 1947, President Manuel Acuña Roxas of the Third Republic created a new Code Commission, this time headed by the former Dean of the University of the Philippines College of Law, Jorge Bocobo. Among the members of this new Commission were future Supreme Court Associate Justice Francisco R. Capistrano, and future Vice-President Arturo Tolentino. The Code Commission completed the final draft of the new Civil Code by December 1947, and this was submitted to Congress, which enacted it into law through Republic Act No. 386. The Civil Code took effect in 1950.

The Civil Code of the Republic of Chile (Código Civil de la República de Chile, also referred to as the Code of Bello) is the work of jurist and legislator Andrés Bello. After several years of individual work (though officially presented as the work of multiple Congress commissions), Bello delivered a complete project of the Code on November 22, 1855, which was sent to Congrees by President Manuel Montt, preceded by a foreword by Bello himself. Congress passed the Civil Code into law on December 14, 1855. It then came into force on January 1, 1857. Although it has been the object of numerous alterations, the Code has been kept in force since then.

Sources

Traditionally, the Napoleonic Code has been considered the main source of inspiration for the Chilean Code. However, this is true only with regard to the law of obligations and the law of things (except for principle of abstraction), while it is not true at all in the matters of family and successions.

The indisputable main source of the Civil Code is the Siete Partidas (Seven-Part Code) of King Alfonso X, perhaps the pinnacle of Spanish ius commune. For instance, in relating the acquisition of property, the code makes a clear distinction between the titles and the actual acquisition of property, similarly to the Roman Law and the German Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch.

France (French: [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a sovereign state comprising territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European part of France, called metropolitan France, extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. France spans 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and has a total population of 66.6 million. It is a unitary semi-presidential republic with the capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. The Constitution of France establishes the state as secular and democratic, with its sovereignty derived from the people.

During the Iron Age, what is now Metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The Gauls were conquered in 51 BC by the Roman Empire, which held Gaul until 486. The Gallo-Romans faced raids and migration from the Germanic Franks, who dominated the region for hundreds of years, eventually creating the medieval Kingdom of France. France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years' War (1337 to 1453) strengthening French state-building and paving the way for a future centralized absolute monarchy. During the Renaissance, France experienced a vast cultural development and established the beginning of a global colonial empire. The 16th century was dominated by religious civil wars between Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots).

France is a country in Europe.

France may also refer to:

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In European elections, France was a constituency of the European Parliament. It was replaced by subdivided constituencies in 2004. The boundaries of this constituency were the same as the member state of France. Its MEPs can be found in MEPs representing the French constituencies before 2004

Results

1979

1984

1989

1994

1999

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