Civil Code of Quebec

The Civil Code of Québec is the legal text defining civil laws in the province of Quebec, Canada. It came into effect on January 1, 1994, thus replacing the Civil Code of Lower Canada as first written and adopted in 1866 before the enactment of the British North America Act by the British Parliament in 1867. The Civil Code of Lower Canada was derived from the 1804 Napoleonic code, the Customs of Paris, the Code of Louisiana and the Canton du Vaud.

The new Code is a complete restatement of the civil law in Quebec as of the date of its adoption including judicial interpretation of codal provisions including broad privacy and personality rights protection and the adoption of a section on the patrimony of affectation. Recent amendments to the Code include a provision for civil union allowing unmarried and same sex couples the opportunity to have legal protection to despite their unmarried states.

The reform of the Civil Code of Lower Canada was one of the largest legislative undertakings in a civil law jurisdiction.

The Civil Code of Quebec contains 10 books, each one defining civil law in a specific domain.

1. Law of persons
2. Law of family
3. Law of succession
4. Law of property
5. Law of obligation
6. Law of prior claims and hypothecs
7. Law of evidence
8. Law of prescription
9. Law of publication of rights
10. Law of private international law

See also:

• Civil law
• Civil code
• Politics of Quebec

External links:

• Civil Code of Quebec