1 juil 2013 · CIVIL CODE, AS OF 1ST JULY 2013 obligations contracted by him in France with a French person; he may be In this Title, majority and minority shall be understood according to the meaning they have in French law
| Previous PDF | Next PDF |
[PDF] French Civil Code
CIVIL CODE Translated by Georges ROUHETTE, Professor of Law, with the assistance of Dr Anne ROUHETTE-BERTON, Assistant Professor of English
[PDF] Civil Code - WIPO
1 juil 2013 · CIVIL CODE, AS OF 1ST JULY 2013 obligations contracted by him in France with a French person; he may be In this Title, majority and minority shall be understood according to the meaning they have in French law
[PDF] Translation revised 2018 final - Textesjusticegouvfr - Ministère de
The new provisions of the Code civil created by Ordonnance The languages offered for the conclusion of the contract, which must include the French language; 4 money obligations, as in the common usage of these terms in English law
[PDF] Code Napoleon; or, The French civil code
LITERALLY TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL AND OFFICIAL EDITION, PUBLISHED AT PARIS, IN 1804 BY A BARRISTER OF THE INNER TEMPLE
[PDF] CIVIL CODE
Translated by Georges ROUHETTE, Professor of Law, with the assistance of Dr Anne ROUHETTE-BERTON, Assistant Professor of English TITLE XVI OF
[PDF] PDF of Unofficial English Translation - ILO
The phrase used in the French official translation (of the Egyptian Civil Code) is " their national law" ARTICLE 12 (E C 12) MARRIAGE The fundamental
[PDF] french colonialism in algeria and arab tensions
[PDF] french conditional exercises
[PDF] french conjugation
[PDF] french conjugation book
[PDF] french conjugation chart
[PDF] french conjugation with english translation
[PDF] french conjunctions list pdf
[PDF] french constitution article 88
[PDF] french constitution democracy
[PDF] french constitution list
[PDF] french constitution of 1791 definition
[PDF] french constitution of 1791 full text
[PDF] french constitution of 1791 in english
[PDF] french constitution of 1791 primary source
CIVIL CODE, AS OF 1ST JULY 2013
TEAM IN CHARGE OF THE TRANSLATION (SEPTEMBER 2014): TRANSLATION: DAVID W. GRUNING, PROFESSOR OF LAW, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL OF LAW, NEW ORLEANS
REVISION: JURISCOPE
EXPERT COMMITTEE: PROF. ALAIN A. LEVASSEUR, HERMANN MOYSE, SR. AND HENRYPLAUCHÉ DART PROFESSOR OF LAW;
DIRECTOR, EUROPEAN STUDIES PROGRAM; LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY PAUL M. HEBERT LAW CENTER; FONDATION POUR LE
DROIT CONTINENTAL, CONSEIL SCIENTIFIQUE, AND PROF. JOHN R. TRAHAN, PROFESSOR OF LAW, LOUISIANA STATE
UNIVERSITY, LAW CENTER, BATON ROUGE.
CIVIL CODE
1 July 2013
PRELIMINARY TITLE. - THE PUBLICATION, EFFECTS, AND APPLICATION OF LEGISLATION IN GENERAL
Article 1
Statutes and administrative acts, when the latter are published in the Journal officiel de la République
française, take effect on the date they specify or, if none is specified, on the day following the date of
their publication. Nevertheless, if the enforcement of some provisions of such acts requires an additional
enactment, the effective date of the enforcement of these provisions is deferred to the effective date of the additional enactment. In case of an emergency, statutes whose decree of promulgation so declar es and administrative acts for which the Government so orders by special provision, shall enter into fo rce immediately upon their publication. The provisions of this Article do not apply to acts applicable to indivi duals.Article 2
Legislation provides only for the future; it has no retroactive effect.Article 3
Statutes concerning public policy and safety are binding on all those li ving on the territory. French law governs immovables, even those possessed by aliens. Statutes concerning the status and capacity of persons govern French cit izens even those residing in a foreign country.Article 4
A judge who refuses to give judgment on the pretext of legislation being silent, obscure or insufficient
may be prosecuted for being guilty of a denial of justice.Article 5
In the cases that are referred to them, judges are forbidden to pronounce judgment by way of general and
regulatory dispositions.Article 6
One may not by private agreement derogate from laws that concern public order and good morals.Article 6-1
Marriage and filiation through adoption produce the same effects, rights, and obligations provided by
legislation, with the exception of those provided for in Book I, Title VII, of this Code, regardless whether
the spouses or parents are of different sexes or same sex.TITLE I. - CIVIL RIGHTS
Article 7
The exercise of civil rights is independent of the exercise of political rights, which are acquired and
preserved in accordance with constitutional and electoral statutes.Article 8
Every French person enjoys civil rights.
Article 9
Everyone has the right to respect for his private life.Without prejudice to the right to recover indemnification for injury suffered, judges may prescribe any
measures, such as sequestration, seizure and others, suited to the preve ntion or the ending of an infringement of the intimate character of private life; in case of emerg ency those measures may be provided for by summary proceedings.Article 9-1
Everyone is entitled to the presumption of innocence.When, before any sentence is pronounced, a person is publicly portrayed to be guilty of acts that are
subject to an inquest or preliminary judicial investigation, the judge, even by summary proceedings and
without prejudice to the right to recover indemnification for injury suffered, may prescribe any measures,
such as the insertion of a correction or the circulation of a communiqué , in order to put an end to theinfringement of the presumption of innocence, at the expense of the natural or juridical person responsible
for that infringement.Article 10
Everyone is required to lend his aid to the court so that the truth may be revealed. He who, without legitimate reason, evades that obligation when it is legally required of him, may be compelled to comply with it, if need be on pain of a periodic penalty pa yment or of a civil fine, without prejudice to the right to recover damages.Article 11
An alien enjoys in France the same civil rights as those that are or wil l be granted to French persons by the treaties of the nation to which that alien belongs.Article 14
An alien, even if not residing in France, may be cited before French courts for the performance of obligations contracted by him in France with a French person; he may be brought before the courts of France for obligations contracted by him in a foreign country towards French pe rsons.Article 15
A French person may be brought before a court of France for obligations contracted by him in a foreign
country, even with an alien.CHAPTER II. RESPECT FOR THE HUMAN BODY
Article 16
Legislation ensures the primacy of the person, prohibits any infringemen t of the latter's dignity, and guarantees respect for the human being from the outset of his life.Article 16-1
Everyone has the right to respect for his body.
The human body is inviolable.
The human body, its elements, and its products may not form the object o f a patrimonial right.Article 16-1-1
The respect owed to the human body does not end with death.The remains of a deceased person, including the ashes of one whose body has been cremated, must be treated
with respect, dignity, and decency.Article 16-2
The judge may prescribe any measure appropriate to prevent or end an illicit infringement of the human body
or illicit actions relating to its elements or products, even after deat h.Article 16-3
There may be no infringement of the integrity of the human body except i n case of medical necessity for the person or exceptionally in the therapeutic interest of another.The consent of the interested person concerned must be obtained beforehand, except when his condition
necessitates a therapeutic intervention to which he is not able to assen t.Article 16-4
No one may infringe upon the integrity of mankind. Any eugenic practice which aims at organizing the selection of persons i s forbidden.Any medical procedure whose purpose is to cause the birth of a child genetically identical to another
person alive or dead is forbiddenWithout prejudice to any research that aims at preventing and treating genetic diseases, there may be no
transformation of genes in order to alter the descent of a person.Article 16-5
Agreements that have the effect of bestowing a patrimonial value on the human body, on its elements, or on
its products are null.Article 16-6
No remuneration may be allowed to a person who consents to experimentati on on his person, to the removal of elements from his body, or to the collection of products thereof.Article 16-7
All agreements relating to procreation or gestation for the benefit of a nother are null.Article 16-8
No information enabling the identification of both the person who donates an element or a product of his
body and the person who receives it may be divulged. The donor may not k now the identity of the recipient nor the recipient know who the donor is. In case of therapeutic necessity, only the physicians of the donor and r ecipient may have access to the information enabling the identification of these two persons.Article 16-9
The provisions in this chapter are of public order. CHAPTER III. EXAMINATION OF GENETIC CHARACTERISTICS OF A PERSON AND THEIDENTIFICATION OF A PERSON BY GENETIC
MARKERS
Article 16-10
An examination of the genetic characteristics of a person may only be undertaken for medical purposes or
for scientific research. The express consent of the person must be obtained in writing before the carrying out of the examination, after the person has been duly informed of its nature and its purpose. The consent shall specify the purpose of the examination. It may be revoked at any time without any formality.Article 16-11
The identification of a person by his genetic fingerprint may only be so ught:1o Within the framework of investigative measures or the preparation of
a case during a judicial proceeding;2o For medical purposes or for scientific research;
3o In order to establish, when it is unknown, the identity of deceased p
ersons; In civil proceedings, such identification may only be sought as part of the preparation of case pursuant to judicial order by a court having jurisdiction to hear an action meant to establish or to deny filiation, orto obtain or to deny subsidies. The consent of the party concerned must be given beforehand and expressly.
Unless there is express agreement by the person manifested while alive, no identification of that person may be carried out after his death.When the identification process occurs for medical purposes or for scientific research, the express written
consent of the person must be obtained before it is undertaken, and after he has been duly informed of its
nature and its purpose. The consent specifies the purpose of the identification. The consent is revocable
without formality and at any time.When the search for identity referred to in 3o concerns either a deceased member of the military during an
operation conducted by the armed forces or units attached to them, or th e victim of a natural catastrophe, or a person who is the object of investigations under Article 26 of the Law no 95-73 of 21 January 1995concerning orientation and programs of security and whose death is assumed, samples for the purpose of
collecting the biological features of that person may be taken from plac es that person habitually frequented, with the consent of the authority in charge of those places, or in case of refusal by that authority or incase of the impossibility to obtain that consent, with the authorization of the judge of civil liberties and
detention of the Tribunal de Grande Instance. Samples for the same purposes may be taken from the presumed
ascendants, descendants, and collateral relatives of the person. The express and written consent of each
person concerned is stated in writing before a sample is taken, after the person has been duly informed of
the nature of the sample, of its purpose, and that the consent may be revoked at any time. The consent
specifies the purpose of the sample taken and of the identification. The manner in which the implementation of the search for identification under 3o of this article is conducted is specified in a decree en Conseil d'État.Article 16-12
Only persons who have been authorized as prescribed by a decree en Conseil d'État are entitled to undertake
identifications using genetic fingerprints or imprintings. In the instan ce of judicial proceedings, those persons must, besides, be registered on a list of judicial experts.Article 16-13
No one may be discriminated against on the basis of his genetic characte ristics.CHAPTER IV. - USE OF BRAIN IMAGING TECHNOLOGY
Article 16-14
Brain imaging technology can be resorted to only for medical purposes or scientific research, or within
the scope of a court ordered expert examination. The express consent of the person must be obtained in
writing before the examination is conducted, after the person has been d uly informed of its nature and its purpose. The consent shall specify the purpose of the examination. It ca n be revoked without formality and at any time.TITLE I BIS. FRENCH NATIONALITY
Chapter i. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 17
French nationality is granted, acquired, or lost according to the provisions laid down in this Title,
subject to the application of any treaties and other international commi tments of France.Article 17-1
New statutes concerning the granting nationality by birth shall apply to persons who are minors when the
statutes take effect, without prejudice to the vested rights of third pa rties and without the validity of acts previously entered into being allowed to be challenged on the groun d of nationality.The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall apply for purposes of interpretation to the statutes on
nationality by birth that have come into force after the promulgation ofTitle I of this Code.
Article 17-2
The acquisition and loss of the French nationality are governed by the statute in force at the time of the
act or fact to which that statute gives its effects. The provisions of the preceding paragraph shall govern for purposes of interpretation, the appli cation in time of the statutes on nationality that have been in force before 19 Oc tober 1945.Article 17-3
The applications concerning the acquisition, loss of the French nationality, or to be reinstated into that
nationality, as well as declarations of nationality, may, under the cond itions provided for by statute , be made without authorization from the age of sixteen.A minor under sixteen must be represented by the person or persons who exercise parental authority over
him. Likewise, must also be represented any minor whose mental or physical im pairments prevent him from expressing his intent. The impediment is established by the judge of tut orships sua sponte, on application of a member of the family of the minor, or on application of the State Pros ecutor's office, upon presentation of a certificate issued by a physician specialist selected from a list draw n up by the State Prosecutor's office.When the minor mentioned in the preceding paragraph is placed under tutorship, he is represented by the
tutor authorized to this end by the family council.Article 17-4
In this Title, the phrase "in France" is to be understood as meaning the metropolitan territory, the overseas departments and territories, as well as New Caledonia and the F rench Southern and Antarctic Lands.Article 17-5
In this Title, majority and minority shall be understood according to th e meaning they have in French law.Article 17-6
In order, at any time, to determine the French territory, account shall be taken of modifications resulting
from enactments of the French Government under the Constitution and legislation, as well as under international treaties previously concluded.Article 17-7
In the absence of conventional stipulations, the effects on French nationality of the annexations and
cessions of territories are governed by the following provisions.Article 17-8
The nationals of the ceding State domiciled in the annexed territories o n the day of the transfer ofsovereignty acquire the French nationality, unless they actually establish their domiciles outside those
territories. Under the same reservation, French nationals domiciled in t he ceded territories on the day of the transfer of sovereignty lose that nationality.Article 17-9
The effects upon the French nationality of the accession to independence of former overseas departments or
territories of the Republic are determined in Chapter VII of this Title.Article 17-10
The provisions of Article 17-8 apply for purposes of interpretation to changes of nationality following the
annexations and cessions of territories resulting from treaties conclude d before 19 October 1945.Nevertheless, aliens who had their domiciles in territories retroceded by France under the Treaty of Paris
of 30 May 1814 and who transferred their domiciles to France following t his Treaty, could not acquire the French nationality on this ground unless they complied with the provisio ns of the Law of 14 October 1814.French persons who were born outside the retroceded territories and have kept their domiciles on those
territories have not lost their French nationality under the terms of th e aforementioned Treaty.Article 17-11
Without infringing on the interpretation given to former agreements, a change of nationality may not, in
any case, follow from an international convention, unless the convention so provides expressly.Article 17-12
When, under the terms of an international convention, a change of nationality is subject to the performance
of an act of choice, that act shall be determined as to its form by the law of the contracting state in which it is performed.CHAPTER II. FRENCH NATIONALITY BY ORIGIN
Section 1. Being French by filiation
Article 18
A French child is one who has at least one French parent.Article 18-1
However, if only one parent is French, the child not born in France has the option to repudiate his French
status within six months preceding his becoming of age and within twelve months thereafter. This option is lost if the parent who is alien or stateless, acquires th e french nationality during the minority of the child.Section 2. Being French by birth in France
Article 19
A child born in France of unknown parents is French. He shall, however, be deemed never to have been French if, during his minority, his parentage is established to an alien and if, under the national law of his parent, he has the nationality of the latter.Article 19-1
A child is French if born in France:
1° Of stateless parents;
2° Of alien parents and to whom the transmission of the nationality o
f either parent is by no means allowed by foreign Nationality Acts. He shall, however, be deemed never to have been French if, during his minority, the foreign nationality acquired or possessed by one of his parents happ ens to pass to him.Article 19-2
A child whose record of birth was drawn up in accordance with Article 58 of this Code is presumed to have been born in France.Article 19-3
A child born in France is French if one at least of his parents was hims elf or herself born there.Article 19-4
If, however, only one parent was born in France, a child who is French u nder the terms of Article 19-3 has the option to repudiate this status within six months preceding his beco ming of age and twelve months thereafter. This option is lost where one of the parents acquires french nationality during the minority of the child.Section 3. Common provisions
Article 20
A child who is French under the provisions of this Chapter shall be deemed to have been French from birth,
even when the existence of the statutory requirements for the granting o f the French nationality was fulfilled only at a later date. The nationality of a child who benefitted from a plenary adoption is det ermined according to the distinctions set out in Articles 18 and 18-1, 19-1, 19-3 and 19-4 above.However, the establishment of the status of being French later than the birth may not affect the validity
of acts previously concluded by the party concerned nor the rights previ ously acquired by third parties on the ground of the apparent nationality of the child.Article 20-1
The filiation of a child has effect on his nationality only when it is e stablished during his minority.Article 20-2
A French person who has the option to repudiate the French nationality in the instances listed under this
Title may exercise that option by way of a declaration made in accordanc e with Articles 26 and following. He may renounce that option beginning at age sixteen under the same cond itions.Article 20-3
In the instances referred to in the preceding Article, no one may repudiate the French nationality unless
he proves that he has by filiation the nationality of a foreign country.Article 20-4
A French person who enlists in the French forces loses the option to rep udiate.Article 20-5
The provisions of Articles 19-3 and 19-4 shall not apply to the children born in France of diplomatic
agents or of career consuls of foreign nationalities. But such children do have the option to acquire voluntarily the status o f a French person as provided for in Article 21-11 below. CHAPTER III. THE ACQUISITION OF FRENCH NATIONALITY Section 1. Means of acquisition of French nationality Sub-article 1. Acquisition of French nationality by filiationArticle 21
A simple adoption does not have any effect as a matter of law on the nat ionality of an adopted child. Sub-article 2. Acquisition of French nationality by marriageArticle 21-1
Marriage has no effect as a matter of law on nationalityArticle 21-2
The alien or stateless person who enters into a marriage with a spouse o f French nationality may, after a period of four years from the marriage, acquire the French nationality b y means of a declaration provided that, at the time of the declaration, their life in common both affectiv e and material has not come to an end since the marriage and that the French spouse has kept his nationality. The duration of the life in common shall be raised to five years if the alien, at the time of the declaration, either does not prove that he has resided in France without interruption for at least three years from the marriage, or is not able to show proof that his French sp ouse was registered on the list ofFrench persons established outside France for the duration of their life in common abroad. Moreover, the
marriage celebrated outside France must have been transcribed beforehand on the registers of French civil status. The foreign spouse must also prove a sufficient knowledge, according to his condition, of the French language, whose level and manner of evaluation are fixed by decree en Co nseil d'État.Article 21-3
Subject to the provisions of Articles 21-4 and 26-3, the party concerned acquires the French nationality at
the date when the declaration is made.Article 21-4
By a decree en Conseil d'État, the Government may, on grounds of indignity or lack of assimilation other
than linguistic, oppose the acquisition of the French nationality by the foreign spouse within a period oftwo years after the date of the acknowledgement of receipt provided for in Article 26, paragraph 2, or, if
the registration was refused, after the day when the judgment which admi ts the lawfulness of the declaration has become final. The polygamous status of the foreign spouse or a sentence pronounced aga inst him on account of the offensedefined in Article 222-9 of the Penal Code, when that offense was committed on a minor of fifteen years of
age, are proof of a lack of assimilation. If there is an opposition by the Government, the party concerned shall b e deemed to have never acquired theFrench nationality.
However, the validity of acts concluded between the time of the declaration and the decree of opposition
cannot be contested on the ground that the maker of the declaration was unable to acquire the French nationality.Article 21-5
The marriage declared null by a judgment of a French court or by a foreign court whose authority isrecognized in France, does not render null the declaration made under Article 21-2 with regard to the spouse
who married in good faith.