Original scientific paper
The position of women in terms of family law in France between 1789 and 1816 with an analysis of the Code Civil of 1804 - the issue of the basis for building contemporary family law regulations
Zrinka Erent-Sunko
; Faculty of law, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
The paper explores the scope of family law regulations in France after 1789, outlining the novelties of the 1972 law regulating marriage and the family, and analysing the text of the Code Civil, adopted in 1804, when the spirit of the Revolution had become diluted to the extent that natural rights were interpreted in accordance with the need to preserve the social order. In comparing these two laws one often forgets about the social conditions and a series of other factors affecting family relations and the position of women. One can thus gain the impression that the 1792 law is progressive, and that the scope of the Code Civil in this area is merely a return to the former situation, which makes for a poor basis for the development of women's rights. The truth lies in the middle, especially when taken into account that it is impossible to make an assessment of the impact on the development of the so-called “women's rights” in a comprehensive manner, but only by studying individual institutes and considering how they are placed in the context of the society which continues to undergo constant changes of government until the Third Republic.
Keywords
French Revolution; Divorce Act 1792; Code civil; women's rights; divorce; paternal authority
Hrčak ID:
67124
URI
Publication date:
20.3.2011.
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