The Legal System (Under Napoleon)

[Jessica]

Our group are assigned to the subject "the legal system", which was one of the changes Napoleon brought to France.
We are to teach the class why it was important. We are going to do it on Tuesday.
I wrote some notes, based on my textbook:
*Napoleon made his greatest impact on French law
*old feudal & royal laws were often contradictory & confusing
*Napoleonic Code based on Enlightenment ideas; such as: equality of all citizens before law, religious toleration, & advancement based on merit
*placed the state above the individual
*limited freedom of speech & press by allowing books, plays, and pamphlets
*Women lost many of the rights they had gained during the revolution ()
*male heads of households were given extensive authority over wives & minor children ()

Any ideas on how to teach why it was important? Was it because Napoleon made the laws easier to understand?

[CrOtALiTo]

It's your homework.

Later I will check your homework.

[Jessica]

It's not really homework. I only need ideas.

[Tomisimo]

One reason it's important is simply because he made sweeping changes to the legal system. One important difference between Napoleonic law and English law (what the US legal system is based on), is that Napoleonic law does not include the concept of innocent until proven guilty that is so important to us. In some cases you would be guilty unless you can prove you are innocent.

[Jessica]

yes my S.S. teacher said that in some countries you are guilty until proven innocent and here in the US you are innocent until proven guilty

[sosia]

Hi Jessica
You see as normal some things who where not normal time ago.
-Laws are the same in all the states.
-Everybody can choose his/her own religion
-Everybody must have the same oportunities to enter in a workpalce, school, work, and so on.
see your notes
- old feudal & royal laws were often contradictory & confusing
- religious toleration
- equality of all citizens before law
For me, the best method for explainig this, is making short stories, for example a man who tries to work but he can't, due to different laws. Examples:
- He is not noble
- He must pay lots of taxes due to the laaw of the place, so the work was not worthy. But in the next place, different taxes makes it fair.
Then you ask if the class think it's fair.
Some "fair" things we have now where for the first time writed in that Civil Code.
Saludos