The cover of the first edition of the French Civil Code

Napoleon died of illness on St. Helena in 1821. Before his death, he said: "The glory of my forty victories in my life was erased by the battle of Waterloo, but I have one achievement that will last forever, and that is my code." Napoleon's Code (also known as the French Civil Code or the Civil Code).

In June 1789, the National Assembly of the era of the French Revolution passed a resolution declaring that "all taxes and contributions of all kinds shall be ceased in all provinces of the country without the formal and express approval of the Parliament", and that the king had no right to determine taxes. King Louis XVI was furious and dismissed Necker, the treasurer who advocated that taxation should belong to the parliament.

The conflict between the king and the National Assembly intensified. In July, the city of Paris was taken over by the rebels. The Bastille was conquered. The French Revolution, which was based on "who has the right to decide taxes", broke out in full swing. In September 1792, the monarchy that had ruled France for thousands of years was abolished and Louis XVI was guillotined. In 1799, Napoleon seized power in chaos and launched a "Brumaire Coup" to establish a ruling government.

After 10 months, he ordered the establishment of a four-member "Civil Law Drafting Committee", which stipulated that the members must complete the drafting of the civil law within November. The Drafting Committee completed the draft civil law on schedule, and after the Dali Court and the Court of Appeal studied and revised it, it was submitted to the Senate for discussion and revision. The Senate held a total of 102 discussions on the draft civil law, and Napoleon personally served as chairperson and participated in the public consultation 97 times. The code was finally unanimously approved by the Legislative Yuan. This exemplary code in human history was officially promulgated on March 21, 1804. The four people appointed by Napoleon to draft the civil law were President Tronchet of Dali, Marville, an expert on Roman law, Preamena, the government's chief judicial administrator, and Porta, the judge of the naval court.

The French Civil Code was adopted on March 21, 1804. In addition to the general provisions, the code is divided into 3 parts with a total of 2281 articles. The first part is the Personal Law, which contains provisions on personal and family laws. In fact, it is provisions on subjects of civil rights. The second part is the Property Law, which contains provisions on various property and ownership and other real rights. In fact, it is provisions on the object of civil rights in static state. The third part is called "Various Methods of Obtaining Ownership". The content is quite complex: first, it stipulates inheritance, gift, will and marital property systems; secondly, it stipulates the Debt Law, attached to the Pledge and Mortgage Law; and finally, it also stipulates the acquisition prescription and extinction prescription. In fact, this part is about the various possibilities for the transfer of the object of civil rights from one right subject to another.