The Italian Civil Code ( it, Codice civile) is the
civil code
A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property, family, and obligations.
A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdictions with a civil code, a number of the core ar ...
of Italy, a collection of norms regulating
private law
Private law is that part of a civil law legal system which is part of the ''jus commune'' that involves relationships between individuals, such as the law of contracts and torts (as it is called in the common law), and the law of obligations ( ...
.
It was enacted under
Fascist rule, by
Royal decree
A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...
no. 262 of 16 March 1942. It predates the current
Constitution of Italy
The Constitution of the Italian Republic ( it, Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana) was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947, with 453 votes in favour and 62 against. The text, which has since been amended sixteen times, ...
, and it was amended in the postwar period.
The 1942 civil code replaced an earlier civil code which was in force since 1865, and was based on an Italian translation of the
Code Napoleon (however, some parts of the code are based on
laws in effect in
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
at the time, especially regarding the
corporate law).
Contents
* Preliminary provisions: 16 provisions applying to all books of the civil code.
* Book 1 - family law, marriage, adoption.
* Book 2 - inheritance law, testament.
* Book 3 - property: movable items, real estate, property rights and limits.
* Book 4 - bonds, purchase and sale contracts, mortgages.
* Book 5 - commerce law and labor law.
* Book 6 - liability, transcription, credit law, rules of evidence.
References
{{Civil codes by country, Europe
Civil codes
Civil code
A civil code is a codification of private law relating to property, family, and obligations.
A jurisdiction that has a civil code generally also has a code of civil procedure. In some jurisdictions with a civil code, a number of the core ar ...