Legal And Administrative Change Flashcards
How did Napoleon help to standardise law and provide an opportunity to define law after all the revolutionary upheavals?
Through the Codification of Law which involved the creation of a written and accessible record of the law.
What did legal experts do under Cambacérès?
A committee of legal experts established a French civil law code.
What was customary law?
The basis for judgement of the law in the north used by lawyers chosen to represent by the civil law code.
What was the Roman Law?
The basis of judgment of the law used by lawyers in the south.
What key revolutionary changes were made by the Civil Code?
On 21st March 1804, the civil code abolished feudalism and removal of noble and church privilege; the secularisation of state and equality before the law and freedom of conscience. It also confirmed the legal rights of the purchasers of the burns nationaux and continued to support employer over employee and forbade associations of workers.
How did the Civil Code effect property law and the re-establishment of male rights?
The father/husband was confirmed as head of the family.
Children were subordinate to their father until marriage and could be imprisoned by him for deficiencies in behaviour.
Until sons were 25 and daughters 21, they had to have their fathers permission to marry.
Divorce was permissible and although a husband could divorce a wife for adultery, the wife could only do so if the husband committed adultery in the family home.
Female rights of inheritance were restricted.
An unmarried woman could not act as guardian or witness a legal document.
Partage system introduced (where at least 75% of property had to be distributed between all legitimate offspring) to replace the practice of primogeniture (where only the eldest son inherited the fathers property).
When was a code on civil procedure introduced and what did it do?
1806 and it standardised court practice in relation to the Civil Code.
When was the commercial code introduced and what did it do?
- It provided guidelines for trade and business, including debt and bankruptcy.
When was the code on civil procedure introduced and what did it do?
- It maintained the practice of trial by jury including the double jury system in which one jury was responsible for investigation and another responsible for judgement.
When did the system of imprisonment without trial introduced?
- It incurred 640 prisoners in 1814. The alternative of house arrest was frequently used.
When did the new penal code lay down guidelines for punishments?
- It included the death penalty for murder, arson and forgery and the loss of right hand, before execution, for parricide (the killing of a parent or near relative). Other crimes would incur hard labour and branding. It did establish maximum and minimum penalties, rather than fixed under AR.
What happened to the number of prisoners between 1800 and 1810?
It was estimated that the number tripled to around 16,000.
Did this codification work well?
It was the most comprehensive codification France had ever had and it imposed an order and uniformity that contrasted strongly with the chaotic system of pre-revolutionary time.
What changes were made to the way in which judges and magistrates were selected?
Only local magistrates continued to be directly elected by citizens, while other judges had to be directly appointed. From 1802, the election of local magistrates phased out. The length of service of local magistrates was extended to 10 years.
Judges in civil and criminal courts were appointed for life. The senate chose judges for the highest court of appeal and the First Consul selected judges for lower courts.
What was wrong with the original was of running local government?
Elected councils were in charge, which was a problem because there was no direct communication and cooperation between local councils and central government and the local councils often lacked the money needed to operate efficiently.
