French Civil Code (Napoleonic Code)

529 to 534

Corpus Juris Civilis (Justinian's Code)

Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire

drew on Roman law for its structure and many rules

1789

Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

France

built on the equality and property rights of the Revolution

1808

Louisiana Digest of the Civil Laws

Louisiana (United States)

drafters drew on French civil law, along with Spanish law

1838

Dutch Civil Code of 1838

Netherlands

follows the French code's structure and many articles closely

1855 (in force 1857)

Chilean Civil Code (Andrés Bello)

Chile

borrowed structure and many provisions

1860 to 1865

Teixeira de Freitas's Esboço (draft civil code)

Brazil

started from the French code, but improved its structure

1865

Italian Civil Code of 1865

Italy

closely modelled on the French code

1867

Portuguese Civil Code of 1867 (Código de Seabra)

Portugal

followed the French code, with Portuguese and Roman law sources

1869 (in force 1871)

Argentine Civil Code (Vélez Sársfield)

Argentina

used the French code as a main source

1889

Spanish Civil Code

Spain

borrowed ideas and structure, combined with Spanish tradition

1896 to 1898

Japanese Civil Code

Japan

an earlier draft by a French adviser was based on the French code

1925 to 1935

Thai Civil and Commercial Code

Thailand

borrowed from the French code

1948

Egyptian Civil Code (Sanhuri)

Egypt

structure and many rules came from the French code

1960

Ethiopian Civil Code

Ethiopia

used the French code as one source

1991 (in force 1994)

Civil Code of Québec

Quebec (Canada)

the earlier Quebec code was modelled on the French code

1992

Dutch New Civil Code

Netherlands

replaced an older code that had been modelled on the French one

2016

French contract-law reform

France

revised the original code's contract and obligations rules