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1. Definition Code pénal is the French term for a criminal code. In particular, it is used to refer to the criminal code promulgated under Napoleon I in 1810, which was one of the Cinq codes ( les cinq codes) together with the  Code civil (1804), the  Code de procédure civil (1806), the  Code de commerce (1807), and the Code d'instruction criminelle (1808).Laurent Pfister2. The Code pénal of 1791All criminal law was codified for the first time in a single law code in France during the French Revolution (1789) [4]. The third estate (French,  tiers etat, the bourgeoisie) demanded new l…

1. Origin In order to abolish the legal pluralism of the Ancien Régime and to establish legal unity based on law, the revolutionary constitution of 1791 called for the promulgation of a uniform Code civil (“civil code”; see also Private law). Four drafts were prepared from 1791 to 1799, three of which by Jean-Jacques Régis de Cambacérès; none of them were accepted. The fact that France finally codified the Code civil in 1804 is due to the efforts of the French Consulate to bring stability to France after ten years of the French Revolution (1789) and to Napoleon…