The Constitutio Criminalis Theresiana (also Nemesis Theresiana or just Theresiana) was a penal code issued in 1768 by the Austrian ruler

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

(1717 – 1780). The penal code established a unified criminal law and criminal procedure law in the Habsburg-ruled countries of Austria and Bohemia. In Hungary, Belgium and Lombardy, however, the law did not apply. The new penal code substantially restricted the use of torture as authorized by the old code, although torture was only totally abolished in 1776. When the code was issued, the jurist and thinker

Joseph von Sonnenfels Joseph Freiherr von Sonnenfels (1732 – 25 April 1817) was an Austrian and German jurist and novelist. He was among the leaders of the Illuminati movement in Austria, and a close friend and Patronage, patron of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart. H ...

criticized the continued use of torture and capital punishment. Maria Theresa allowed him to exercise his academic freedom in this case, even if she sided against the jurist in another instance. Capital punishment would be abolished by the Constitutio Criminalis Josephina under

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 unt ...

in 1787 (he had stopped using the punishment in practice since 1781 though).

References

{{Authority control German criminal law Criminal codes Law of the Holy Roman Empire 1768 in law Maria Theresa Torture in Austria