History
The first Louisiana Civil Code Digest of 1808 was written in French and translated into English by Martin O'Callaghan. For many years legal practitioners in the state made great effort to ensure that both versions agreed. Despite those efforts some clauses were found only in one version or the other. Due to modern legislative enactments which repeal and reenact Louisiana's civil code articles as any other collection of statutes, the differences between the original French and the English translation are now primarily of historical interest.
Despite popular belief (and Stanley Kowalski's brief explanation in the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire) it's incorrect to say that the Louisiana Civil Code is, or stems from, the Napoleonic Code; rather, the two law codes stem from common sources. Although the developing Napoleonic Code strongly influenced Louisiana law, it was not enacted until 1804, one year after the Louisiana Purchase. The main source of Louisiana jurisprudence may in fact be Spanish. Currently, the Louisiana Civil Code consists of 3,556 individual code articles.
Read more about this topic: Law Of Louisiana
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