French Civil Code, 1804
After four years of debate and planning, French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte enacts a new legal framework for France, known as the “Napoleonic Code.” The civil code gave post-revolutionary France its first coherent set of laws concerning property, colonial affairs, the family, and individual rights.
In 1800, General Napoleon Bonaparte, as the new dictator of France, began the arduous task of revising France’s outdated and muddled legal system. He established a special commission, led by J.J. Cambaceres, which met more than 80 times to discuss the revolutionary legal revisions, and Napoleon presided over nearly half of these sessions. In March 1804, the Napoleonic Code was finally approved.
It codified several branches of law, including commercial and criminal law, and divided civil law into categories of property and family. Though not officially a part of the Code Napoleon, this agreement with the Catholic Church and the pope plays a critical role in redefining Napoleon's France.
Article 2. The Holy See [pope], in cooperation with the government, will effect a new circumscription of the French dioceses [district under control of a bishop.]
Article 4. Within three months of publication of the bull [decree] of His Holiness, the First Consul of the Republic [Napoleon] will make appointments for the archbishoprics and bishoprics of the new circumscription. His Holiness will confer the canonical institution, following the forms established in relation to France before the changes of government.
Article 5. The Holy See [pope], in cooperation with the government, will effect a new circumscription of the French dioceses [district under control of a bishop.]