Legal Systems
French Legal System
Also Known As Law of France
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The modern French legal system took shape in the Napoleonic period, after the Revolution of 1789 swept away the fragmented customary and Roman-law traditions of the ancien regime. Its civil law core rests on statute rather than judicial precedent: the Napoleonic Civil Code (1804), Code of Civil Procedure (1806) and Commercial Code (1807), enacted under Napoleon and written in accessible language for lay readers, remain foundational. Legislation is seen as the primary source of French law, in contrast with common law jurisdictions, where case precedent predominates.
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Example Jurisdictions Primary Source of LawCodified legislation, principally the Napoleonic-era Civil Code (1804), Code of Civil Procedure (1806) and Commercial Code (1807). 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
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