Editing Napoleonic Code (section)

==Other French Napoleonic-era codes==
The draft Military Code was presented to Napoleon by the special commission headed by [[Pierre Daru]] in June 1805; however, as the [[War of the Third Coalition]] progressed, the code was put aside and never implemented.
 
In 1791, [[Louis-Michel le Peletier, marquis de Saint-Fargeau|Louis Michel le Peletier de Saint-Fargeau]] presented a new criminal code to the [[National Constituent Assembly (France)|National Constituent Assembly]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wOcvAAAAMAAJ
|access-date=2008-03-31
|year=1819
|language=fr
|place=Paris
|publisher=A. Eymery
|page=320
|volume=VI
|chapter=Livre III ... du code pénal
|title=Choix de rapports, opinions et discours prononcés à la tribune nationale
}}</ref> He explained that it outlawed only "true crimes", and not "phony offences created by superstition, feudalism, the tax system, and [royal] [[despotism]]".<ref>"ces délits factices, créés par la superstition, la féodalité, la fiscalité et le despotisme" (id., p 325).</ref> He did not list the crimes "created by superstition". The new penal code did not mention [[blasphemy]], [[heresy]], [[sacrilege]], [[witchcraft]], [[incest]], or [[homosexuality]], which led to these former offences being swiftly decriminalised. In 1810, a [[French Penal Code of 1810|new criminal code]] was issued under Napoleon. As with the [[French Penal Code of 1791|Penal Code of 1791]], it did not contain provisions for religious crimes, incest, or homosexuality.

* After an overhaul of the entire legal system, the new code of civil procedure was adopted in 1806.

* The commercial code (''{{ILL|code de commerce|fr}}'') was adopted in 1807.<ref>[http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/rechCodeArticle.do?reprise=true&page=1 Code de commerce]  Retrieved 2011-12-30</ref> The kernel of the commercial code is the Book III, "Of The Different Modes of Acquiring Property", of the Napoleonic Code, which sets out norms for [[Transaction cost|contracts and transactions]].

* ''Code d'instruction'': In 1808, the ''code d'instruction criminelle'' was published, laying out [[criminal procedure]]. The ''[[parlement]]'' system from before the Revolution, had been much abused, and the criminal courts established by the Revolution were complex and ineffective, subject to many local pressures. The genesis of this code resulted in much debate and the basis of the modern [[inquisitorial system]] of criminal courts in France and many civil law countries. It has significantly changed since, especially with regard to the rights of the defendant.<ref> Adhémar Esmein, ''A History of Continental Criminal Procedure'' (1913) pp. 528–616. [https://archive.org/details/ahistorycontine01mittgoog/page/n28/mode/2up online]</ref>

The French Revolution's [[Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen]] enunciated the [[presumption of innocence]] until found guilty. Concerned by the possibility of [[arbitrary arrest and detention]], or excessive [[Pre-trial detention|remand]], Napoleon remarked that care should be taken to preserve personal freedoms, especially before the Imperial Court: "these courts would have a great strength, they should be prohibited from abusing this situation against weak citizens without connections."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chern |first=Cyril |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J1PhCwAAQBAJ |title=The Law of Construction Disputes |date=2016-04-04 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-317-43346-0 |language=en}}</ref> However, remand still was usual for defendants suspected of serious crimes such as murder.

The possibility of lengthy remand periods was one criticism, particularly voiced in common law countries, of the Napoleonic Code and its ''de facto'' [[presumption of innocence|presumption of guilt]]. Another reason was the combination of magistrate and prosecutor into a single role.<ref>{{cite news|title=French Criminal Procedure|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1895/04/14/102454136.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603212142/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1895/04/14/102454136.pdf |archive-date=2020-06-03 |url-status=live|access-date=14 June 2011|newspaper=New York Times|date=14 April 1895}}</ref> However, with the work of the ''[[Examining magistrate|juge d'instruction]]'' accomplished, the trial itself did not have the same ''[[de jure]]'' presumption of guilt; for instance, the juror's oath explicitly required jurors not betray the interests of the defendants or ignore their defence.

The rules governing court proceedings gave significant power to the prosecution; however, criminal justice in European countries in those days tended to repression. For instance, it was only in 1836 that prisoners charged with a [[felony]] were given a formal [[right to counsel]] in [[Right to counsel#In the United Kingdom|England]]. In comparison, article 294 of the Napoleonic Code of Criminal Procedure{{clarify|reason=Did you mean, the '1808 code d'instruction criminelle'?|date=September 2023}} allowed the defendant access to  a lawyer before a ''[[Cour d'assises]]'', and mandated the court to appoint a lawyer for the defendants who did not have one. (Failing to do so nullified the proceedings.)

Whether or not the ''Cour d'assises'', which judges severe crimes, should operate with a [[jury]] was a topic of considerable controversy. Napoleon supported jury trials (or ''petit jury''), and they were finally adopted. On the other hand, Napoleon opposed the [[indictment]] jury ("[[grand jury]]" of [[common law]] countries), and preferred to assign this task to the criminal division of the [[Appellate court|Court of Appeals]]. Special courts were created to judge criminals who might intimidate the jury.