Editing Charles Albert of Sardinia (section)

=== Law reform ===
In these circumstances, Charles Albert realized the necessity of granting reforms to make the kingdom more modern and to satisfy the needs of the populace. Immediately on ascending to the throne he had named a commission which had been tasked with creating new civil, criminal, commercial and procedural laws. This process of reform took a very long time, but eventually, on 20 June 1837, the new civil code, partially inspired by the [[Napoleonic Code]], was promulgated. The king also participated in the drafting of the new criminal code, which was published on 26 October 1839. During the process, Charles Albert insisted on the concept of [[corrective justice]], limiting the death penalty as much as possible. Nevertheless, he ordained very severe penalties for those guilty of sacrilege or suicide (whose last wills and testaments had no legal power). In 1842, finally, the commercial code and the code of criminal procedure, with innovative guarantees of the rights of the accused, were promulgated.<ref name="Dizionario-Biografico-Treccani" />