[MANUSCRIT]. - Lot 72

[MANUSCRIT]. Projet de code criminel remis au premier consul au mois de floréal an 10. S.l., An 10 [1802]. - Manuscript in-18, 316 pp. Contemporary marbled paper boards. Period handwritten copy, possibly autograph, of a draft criminal code presented to Napoleon Bonaparte in May 1802. The author of this draft has not been identified. The text appears to be unpublished. It begins with Preliminary Provisions, followed by 3 books: I: De la police, comprising 169 articles divided into 17 titles: 1. De la police particulière. - 2. police commissioners - 3. country wardens and forest wardens. - 4. justice - 5. investigating judge and government commissioner. - 6. Information and collection. - 7 Interrogations. - 8 Police judgments. - 9 Criminal judgments of first instance. - 10. contumax. - 11. Special procedure on forgery. - 12. Form of proceeding against certain public officials. - 13. final judgments in police matters. - 14. Final criminal judgments. - 15. Court of Cassation. - 16. How to proceed against judges for offences not related to their functions. - 17. Proceedings against the deaf and dumb. II. Criminal penalties, comprising 89 articles. III. Infamous or afflictive penalties, comprising 82 articles. Interesting observations follow, giving details of the author and context of this project: "I conceived the project of a criminal code before the government appointed a commission for this purpose. I don't intend to compete with the enlightened men he has chosen as commissioners. But a 38-year-long study of public law and civil and criminal law, and the experience I have acquired in criminal and correctional courts, have given me enough confidence to determine me to continue my work. I felt that I owed the government the fruit of my vigilance and observations. [...] I have sought to bring together all the cases that have arisen in the courts, and to develop or modify those that are scattered throughout the various laws concerning correctional police. I found in the penal code many omissions, imperfections, truncated or poorly developed provisions, provisions in the penalties, and above all a shocking equality in the punishment of capital crimes. I have sought to repair all these defects, both with the criminal ordinance, the old laws, and the decisions of the most skilful criminalists, and with the new laws." The first penal code was adopted between September 25 and October 6, 1791. It was replaced by the Imperial Code in 1810. In short, this unpublished manuscript, presented to Napoleon in 1802 by an anonymous jurist with thirty-eight years' experience, reveals a bold attempt to reform the 1791 penal code, deemed flawed and unequal. The author proposes an exhaustive overhaul, structured in 3 books detailing police and judicial procedure, as well as criminal and afflictive penalties, while drawing on ancient legal traditions and the practical needs of the courts. Although this project was not retained, it illustrates the effervescence of legal debates under the Consulate, and offers valuable insights into the transition between revolutionary law and the future imperial code of 1810. This text, both technical and committed, bears witness to the determination of the experts of the time to contribute to the construction of a more coherent and efficient legal system. Wear to binding, missing spine. The last leaf is missing, probably with text and identification of the author.