The civil code is an ordered set of rules that are contemplated by private law.
The civil code is an ordered, systematized and unitary set of regulations contemplated by private law . It is, therefore, rules created to exercise control over civil ties established by both physical and legal persons, whether private or public (with respect to the latter alternative, when people act as individuals).
In the field of law, a code is understood as a group of systematic legal norms that allow a certain subject to be regulated in a unitary manner. The commercial code , for example, brings together the norms and precepts that condition and control commercial operations.
Origins of the civil code
The Codex Maximilianeus Bavaricus Civilis of 1756 was the first body of law to use the term civil code. The concept developed over time and, from the 19th century onwards, most countries were enacting their own civil codes.
The first modern civil code that resembles current codes is the Code Civil promulgated by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804. Napoleon 's intention was to bring together the different branches of the French legal tradition into a single legal body, in such a way that the legal structure of the Ancien Régime would become void.
The Napoleonic Code inspired the development of civil codes in most European and American countries.
Beyond the differences in each case, it can be said that every civil code usually deals with the rights of persons, obligations (such as contracts) and things (assets). It can be distinguished in its structure by persons ( personam ), things ( res , divided into successions and obligations) and actions ( actiones ).
A civil code can be reformed to meet the new needs of the community.
Argentina and the role of the Catholic Church
At the time of drafting the first version of this definition in 2012, Argentina was trying to ensure that the Catholic Church no longer enjoys so many privileges that cannot be justified in any way . Following the return of the sessions of the National Congress and the debate on the movement to renew the country's Civil and Commercial Code, the Argentine Coalition for a Secular State supported the idea of revising the norm that considers the Church a public legal entity and demands that its benefits be annulled.
It is often considered of great importance to amend the article containing the aforementioned norm, since it gives this institution privileges that are typical of a State body, such as protecting its assets against potential seizure. These benefits violate the principles of equality before the law, freedom of religion and conscience present in the country's constitution and in the human rights treaties included therein.
Furthermore, this prerogative was introduced in 1968, during the reign of dictator Juan Carlos Onganía , whose repudiated memory is associated with the famous Night of the Long Batons , the resulting "brain drain" and the censorship and repression that his mandate meant for Argentina .
Once the article was modified, it was explained, the Church would become part of the group of private persons, just like the rest of the organizations. This fact would be very significant and necessary to correct one of the many errors that were committed during the Onganía government, although this unfair concession of rights was certainly not his worst decision.