An Analysis Of Napoleon's Legal Thoughts And Practices Of Law

Napoleon·Bonaparte was the great French statesman and military strategist in the late of 18th century, he was actively engaged in the bourgeois revolution in his early years, and began to rule France in 1799 for fifteen years. Through leading to enact and enforce a series of written code, like Code Napoleon, French commercial code and French Code of Criminal Procedure etc, he set up an integrated legal system in France, meanwhile, with spreading the legal system and legal knowledge to its occupied country in Europe, which created a new era of Continental Legal System. He advocated the rule of law, proposed the popularization and practicality of the law, thus which made a positive contribution to widespread legal spirit to the masses. He brought religious into national legal system, let it played a important role of education and spirit rule in the state rule to promote national unity and integration. He actively implemented Administrative Reforms to simplify the legislative process, reduce administration, which significantly shrunk the administrative management system. He reformed the tax system, implemented the economic blockade in the mainland, carried out censorship, and governed according to law in each field. All of these had promoted the modernization of French capitalist economy. We could say that depending on his pragmatic attitude and resolution, Napoleon had created a new era of Continental Legal System in the Legal History of France and the world. Recently, the jurisprudential study on Napoleon has gradually enlarged from Code Napoleon to every field of Jurisprudentia. Studying on Napoleon's legal thoughts and legal practices from the standpoint of Legal History, would be a reference for constructing a society governed by law and national unity in contemporary China. The article, making great efforts to combine French background, discussing from the point of Legal History, selecting Napoleon's legal practices as study aim, taking the methods of historical and empirical analysis, and through arguing the cause of Napoleon's legal thoughts, aims to making a conclusion benefit for constructing a society governed by law in China.On the basic of researching on the relevant information of Napoleon, the article makes great efforts to state as follows:In the introduction, it describes the achievements of Napoleon's legal practices, their relevant theories and realistic significance. ·In the first part, it summaries Napoleon's legal thoughts, mainly including"legislation is root of government","talented person are souls of government by law", and"law is needed"etc. All of these are running through his guiding ideologied of government, and selected from his selected works, letters, and diaries.In the second part, it discusses the background of Napoleon's legal practices, irrespective from five standpoints of Napoleon's life, the bourgeois revolution, the establishment of capitalist production relations, the decentralized French legal system, the law of nature and the Enlightenment ideas, to find out the basic root of Napoleon's legal thoughts and legal practices.In the third part, it states Napoleon's legal practices. He focus on legislation, and a series of implements have improved the modernization of French law, which draws a important stroke in the world's Legal History.In the forth part, it make a evaluation of Napoleon's legal thoughts and legal practices. He unifies the legal system in France, creates a new era of Continental Legal System, and establishes a new pattern of the capitalist government by law. Those not only play a great role in Legal History of France even of the world, but also are a reference for constructing a society governed by law in contemporary China.