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Introduction
The Code Pénal, one text of the larger codification movement that took place under Napoleon, was introduced in 1810 to replace the numerous laws adopted during the Revolution’s ten-year period. Defining crimes and their respective punishments, it was the text intended to safeguard a French society which had recently been reorganised by the Code Civil. It took nearly ten years of discussion before the text would be ready for promulgation, which would take place on 22 February, 1810. The code remained in place in France until 1 March, 1994, when it was replaced by the new Code Pénal.
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Documents
The website napoleon-series.org features an English translation of the Code Pénal, taken from The Penal Code of France, Translated into English, London: H. Butterworth, 1819 (external link).
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Commentary
– Thierry Lentz: Le Code pénal et son application (in French)
The other codes
– Clémence Zacharie: The Code d’Instruction criminelle, 1808
– A close-up on: the promulgation of the French Code Civil, 21 March 1804
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Timeline
A close-up on: the Code Pénal
The Code Pénal, one text of the larger codification movement that took place under Napoleon, was introduced in 1810 to replace the numerous laws adopted during the Revolution’s ten-year period. Defining crimes and their respective punishments, it was the text intended to safeguard a French society which had recently been reorganised by the Code Civil.
