Louisiana Civil Code Part 1: What Is It?

Perhaps you’ve heard that Louisiana law is special—it has something called a “Civil Code.” What is a “civil code”? Is it the same as the “Napoleonic Code”? And who cares, anyway?

All fair questions. In this series, we will answer them and share a few insights along the way.

So first thing’s first: What makes the “Civil Code” the thing it is? The late John H. Tucker, Jr., Esq., in the foreword to the Code, described it as “an analytical and logical statement of general principles of the law to be applied by deduction to specific cases and extended by analogy to cases” in many instances.

Translation: It’s an arrangement of laws governing civil relations that’s systematically and logically organized. It starts with general principles and then extends to specific examples. And in theory at least, it’s a body of laws general and broad enough to stand the test of time—to continue to cover new and evolving issues and situations because its principles are enduring.

Consider the way our Civil Code is organized: Book I is about “Persons.” Book II is about “Things.” Book III is about the “Different Modes of Acquiring . . . Things.”

Book I starts off by defining types of “persons,” including normal-human-being persons, but also corporate “persons” like corporations. Book I then goes on systematically to describe the different types of legal relationships among people and the rules of law governing those relationships: marriage and divorce, parents and children, and care for disabled people who need assistance.

Book II is all about property rights. It contains titles like “Ownership” and “Boundaries.”

The largest section of the Code is Book III, with rules relating to successions, contracts, sales and leases, partnerships, mortgages, and much more.

In short, the Civil Code is a “Code” because it’s a not just a bunch of laws with random numbers, but is a logical and systematic arrangement of legal rules. It’s “Civil” because it defines the legal relationships among our citizens and the rules and consequences of how those relationships are structured.

Our Bayou State has a rich heritage extending beyond crawfish and Tabasco sauce—although those things are (arguably) more exciting, and certainly much tastier.