Short Essay on the Civil Code of Napoleon

Different laws were prevalent in France but there was no definite code. Napoleon took special pains to get a code prepared under the presidentship of Cambaceres. The Code could be prepared after four months’ hard labour in 1804. Fisher, a prominent historian, has written:

“The task for which modern government devoted fifteen years of exhausting efforts, Napoleon dared accomplish in four months.”

The following five codes were prepared:

(i) Civil Code.

(ii) Code of Civil Procedure.

(iii) Code of Criminal Procedure.

(iv) Penal Code.

(v) Commercial Code.

According to this code the family was regarded as a pious unit after father was given the supreme place in the family, if necessary. He had light on the income of sons, and the property of the father was to be distributed equally among the sons.

It (Civil Code) placed the family absolutely at the disposal of its head. A father could imprison his children.

Complete freedom was not granted to women. They were supposed to be the subordinates of their husbands. Napoleon did not allow women to get education or to take part in public meetings. Once he said, “The only job of a woman is to marry and to give birth to children.”

Civil Marriage and Divorce were accepted in spite of the opposition of the Catholics.

The Civil Code of Napoleon had great significance in history. During his imprisonment in St. Helena, he once said, “My permanent fame was not due to my forty wars that I waged but my Code will make me immortal.”

His Civil Code belongs to the category not of a socialist document but of a liberal document. The civil code might be incomplete and full inconsistencies but it was better than no code at all.

Severe Punishments

The scholars have criticised the theory of severe punishment propagated by Napoleon. The death sentence was awarded for the robbery, corruption and for being a false witness. No fundamental right was provided to men.

The system of letters de cachet was again start to punish the revolutionaries. But there is no dearth of scholars who appreciated the policy of Napoleon for it was essential to be strict severe at that time for his survival.