The impact of Napoleon's rule on France - 1799-1815 - NEEDED FOR EXAM COPY Flashcards
Legal and administrative change: the Napoleonic codes; the prefects, police and control Have a mindmap on
What are the Napoleonic Codes?
The French civil code established under the French Consulate and still in force
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When were the Napoleonic Codes issued?
March 1804
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What was Napoleon’s simplifying and clarifying of France’s legal structure the culmination of?
Revolutionaries’ efforts who’d already changed the legal system
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What 2 things did the codification of law allow?
- Helped standardise law through an accessible record
- Provided an opportunity for defining law
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What did Napoleon do to the committee established by the National Convention and why?
Napoleon discarded the old committee of the Assembly, considering that it demonstrated its incapacity
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When did Napoleon appoint a new commission to codify a French civil law code?
August 13, 1800
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What was Napoleon’s attitude towards the French legal system?
That France’s greatest need was a thorough overhauling
and unification of its laws but he was unsure of the
means reform was to be brought about
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When Napoleon appointed a new commission to reform the legal system, how many lawyers were chosen to represent northern France and southern France
2 to represent north France
2 to represent south France
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Where was Roman law applied?
Southern France
What did the 4 lawyers from the south and north of France do?
Presented a draft civil law code in 1800
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Who did Napoleon appoint as the head of the commission of legal experts?
Cabarceres, the Second Consul
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What is the debate over the significance of Napoleon’s role in drafting the Code?
Some argue that “the part that Napoleon took in framing it [the Code] was not very important” and “interesting as his observations occasionally are, he cannot be considered as a serious collaborator in this great work”. However, others argue that “Napoleon’s presence may be attributed to the fact that the civil law of France was codified with more guilt than other portions of French law, but also with a livelier sense of the general interests of the State. Napoleon knew civil equality, healthy family life, secure bulwarks to property, religious toleration, and government without division was important and so this is the policy which he stamped upon the Civil Code.”
Who publically disagreed with some of the proposals and why?
Some members of the Tribunate criticised some proposals because they were contrary to revolutionary principles
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What was the reaction to criticism of the proposals?
They were disregarded
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What ultimately happened?
Napoleon had it promulgated anyway
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What was the name of the legislature that was promulgated?
Code Civil des Français (Civil Code) - renamed Code Napoleon
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What was the Code influenced by?
A combination of Roman doctrines and French Revolutionary values
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What did the Napoleon code exist to provide and why?
A codified structure for law due to the legal disorganisation of the Ancien Regime and the turmoil and constant legal changes caused by the Revolution and the Terror
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What 4 things did the Napoleonic Code confirm?
- Abolition of feudalism and removal of privilege for Church + nobility
- Secularisation of the state
- Equality before the law and freedom of conscience
- Continued support of employer over employee and forbade workers’ associations
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3 clauses of the Code that were influenced by Roman law?
- The father/husband = head of the family
- Children were subordinate to their father until marriage and could be imprisoned by the father for misbehaving
- Until sons were 25 and daughters were 21, they required their father’s permission to marry
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What code was brought in in 1806 and what did it do?
A code on civil procedure standardised court practice in relation to the Civil Code.
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What code was brought in in 1807 and what did it do?
A commercial code provided guidelines for trade and business, including debt and bankruptcy.
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What code was brought in in 1808 and what 3 things did it do?
A code on criminal procedure maintained:
1. the practice of trial by jury
2. In special courts (for major cases), juries would be selected by prefects.
3. Arrest without trial, although with certain provisions.
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What court practice was Napoleon not keen on and why?
The practice of trial by jury, because he was not keen on this ‘English’ practice
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What jury system did Napoleon scrap and when?
The jury d’accusation - the first of the double jury system in 1811.
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What code was brought in in 1810 and what did it do?
A new penal code laid down guidelines for punishments.
What 3 things did the penal code include?
- The death penalty for murder, arson and forgery
- The loss of the right hand before execution, for killing a relative
- It did establish maximum and minimum penalties, rather than the fixed penalties of the Ancien Regime.
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What did the codification impose?
An order and uniformity that contrasted strongly with the chaotic system of pre-revolutionary times.
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How did Napoleon regard the codification?
As one of his main legacies because of it being the most comprehensive coding France ever had, even though it was more a cause of consolidation than innovation.
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What did the Napoleon Code have a clear focus on?
The main principles of the revolutionaries: liberty, equality and fraternity.
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