What was the name of Napoleon's famous legal code?

What was the name of Napoleon’s famous legal code? It was the Code Napoléon, formally known as the Civil Code of the French. Enacted on 21 March 1804, it created a unified civil-law framework for France after years of revolutionary change and regional legal differences.

Napoleon did not write the code alone. Four leading jurists—Jean-Étienne-Marie Portalis, François Tronchet, Félix Bigot de Préameneu and Jacques de Maleville—drafted it. Napoleon chaired several discussions and provided crucial political support, which helped give the code its enduring name.

The code protected important revolutionary principles, including equality before the law, protection of private property and the secular authority of the state. It also strengthened paternal and marital authority, restricting women’s legal independence by modern standards. The code influenced legal systems across continental Europe and beyond. “Code of Napoleon” is understandable in English, but “Code Napoléon” and “Napoleonic Code” are the standard names.