Amongst Louisiana’s many quirks is a authorized one: Its legal guidelines, slightly than being primarily based on English Widespread Legislation like these within the different 49 states, are as an alternative primarily based on the Napoleonic Code.
I confess that I’ve repeated this on numerous events, with out ever actually understanding why it’s that approach.
The reply, it seems, comes right down to the outstanding achievement of three males greater than 200 years in the past. They produced the primary Louisiana Civil Code, and in so doing, enshrined one in every of our state’s most enduring eccentricities into its authorized system.
First, we have now to know one thing concerning the authorized state of affairs in Louisiana within the early a part of the nineteenth century. It was, in a phrase, chaotic. Lots of the legal guidelines that existed had been written in Spanish, which was now not broadly spoken. Others had been written in French, and a few traced to Roman civil regulation. A digest produced in 1808 helped, nevertheless it wasn’t sufficient.
That is why, in 1822, the Legislature appointed three males as “jurisconsults” and tasked them with developing with a brand new system.
The three had been an attention-grabbing combine: Pierre Derbigny, who was born in France, Louis Moreau-Lislet, born in St. Domingue, and one New Yorker, Edward Livingston. Every was already legally educated and achieved; Moreau-Lislet had been one of many drafters of the Digest of 1808, the sooner try to carry some order to Louisiana’s civil regulation.
They immersed themselves in not simply Louisiana’s regulation but additionally these of different jurisdictions. That included finding out the Napoleonic Code, which was printed in 1804 — one yr after the Louisiana Buy — however within the ensuing a long time had turn into an influential authorized doc in Europe.
Napoleon’s code, the drafters famous, was “nearer to perfection than any which preceded it” and a “nice work” bestowed by the French Republic not simply to France but additionally to the remainder of the world, in accordance with an essay on their work ready by Tulane Legislation Professor Ronald Scalise.
Not surprisingly, their last draft, offered in 1824, relied closely on European civil regulation, together with Napoleon’s code.
The Legislature adopted the code, and it took impact in 1825. And it has, for almost 200, remained the crowning achievement of Louisiana’s authorized historical past. There have been revisions, in fact, one in 1870 to take away references and legal guidelines pertaining to slavery and one other, ongoing one since 1976.
The latter of the 2 is incomplete and has engaged much more legal professionals than the three who crafted the 1825 model. However the revisers have been cautious to remain inside the guardrails and traditions of the unique.
So how does the work of Derbigny, Moreau-Lislet and Livingston affect us right now? I requested Scalise, an knowledgeable on Louisiana’s authorized historical past.
The civil code, he explains, governs all interactions between non-public individuals. So if you are going to buy a cup of espresso, or a home, or get in a automotive accident or should run a succession, the foundations you’ll have to comply with in Louisiana derive from the civil code. And there are vital variations from English Widespread Legislation.
As an example, in Louisiana, an individual can’t disinherit a baby below the age of 23 or who’s completely disabled. The age provision was inserted within the Nineteen Nineties, Scalise mentioned. Earlier than that, it was usually not allowed to disinherit a baby of any age, one thing that comes straight from the European civil regulation. In Widespread Legislation, there isn’t any such provision.
There are additionally variations in what sellers of, say, homes, are required to inform consumers beforehand. Widespread regulation makes use of the phrase “purchaser beware,” whereas the European civil regulation places the onus on the vendor to reveal any potential defects forward of time.
The state might need ended up with a totally totally different authorized custom if not for Derbigny, Moreau-Lislet and Livingston.
But, exterior of the state’s main regulation faculties and authorized establishments, there was little public celebration of their momentous achievement’s bicentennial this yr. That is a disgrace.
We in Louisiana like to have fun what makes us totally different. A authorized code might not have a catchy beat, however any innovation that also performs a task in our lives after two centuries years deserves a salute.
