Code Napoleon, << KAWD na paw lay AWN, >> is the name often given to the code that contains the civil, as distinguished from the criminal, law of France. In 1800, Napoleon Bonaparte appointed a commission of jurists to combine all French civil laws into one code. The code went into effect in 1804. That same year, after Napoleon became emperor of the French, the code became known as the Code Napoleon. But its official name is Code Civil.
The Code Napoleon represented a compromise between the customary law of northern France and the Roman law of the south. It also compromised between the ideas of the French Revolution and older ideas. It gave new liberty to the people, but kept such ideas as the system of inheritance. The Code Napoleon influenced law in Europe, South America, the state of Louisiana, and the province of Quebec. But its influence has declined. Even in France, the Code Napoleon has been changed by new laws and court decisions.
