Napoleonic Code

The intention behind the Napoleonic Code was to reform the French legal system in accordance with the principles of the French Revolution. The vestiges of Feudalism were abolished, and the many different legal systems used in different parts of France were replaced by a single legal code.

The Code Napoleon dealt only with civil law issues; other codes were also published dealing with criminal and commercial law.

The development of the Code Napoleon was a fundamental change in the nature of the civil law legal system. While the development of these codes made the law much clearer, they were different in each country, and thus destroyed the legal unity of Continental Europe which had existed in the Middle Ages.