1960 · Civil codes

Ethiopian Civil Code

Ethiopia

A civil code for Ethiopia drafted by the French comparative lawyer René David, in force from 1960.

Why it matters

It was an attempt to give a country with no tradition of codes a modern code in one step, and is a famous test case of legal transplants.

Built on

1804

French Civil Code (Napoleonic Code)

France

used the French code as one source

1907 (in force 1912)

Swiss Civil Code (and Code of Obligations)

Switzerland

used the Swiss codes as another

Went on to shape

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

Countries in the Legal Families Atlas

Ethiopia

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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.