1838 · Civil codes

Dutch Civil Code of 1838

Netherlands

The first full civil code of the Netherlands, which replaced the French code that had applied in the Napoleonic period.

Why it matters

It shows a country keeping the French code's structure while rewriting its text. It was in force until the new Civil Code of 1992 took over.

Built on

1804

French Civil Code (Napoleonic Code)

France

follows the French code's structure and many articles closely

Went on to shape

No later text on this timeline is recorded as built on it.

Countries in the Legal Families Atlas

Netherlands

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TheLawToKnow Tools’s timeline lists links of influence only where the borrowing is widely documented. Historians sometimes disagree about how much one text shaped another. It is an educational overview, not legal advice.