The civil code is an ordered set of rules that are contemplated by private law.
The civil code is an orderly, systematized and unitary set of regulations contemplated by private law . These are, therefore, rules created to exercise control over civil ties established by both natural and legal persons, whether private or public (with respect to the latter alternative, when people act as individuals).
By code, in the field of law, is understood the group of systematic legal norms that allow a certain matter to be regulated in a unitary manner. The commercial code , to cite an example, brings together the rules 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 name civil code. The concept advanced over time and, starting in the 19th century , most countries enacted 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 aspects of the French legal tradition into a single legal body, in such a way that the legal structure of the Ancien Regime would be left without effect.
The Napoleonic Code inspired the development of the civil codes of 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 people, obligations (such as contracts) and things (property). In its structure, people ( personam ), things ( res , divided into successions and obligations) and actions ( actiones ) can be distinguished in their structure.
A civil code can be reformed to accompany new community needs.
Argentina and the role of the Catholic Church
At the time of writing the first version of this definition, in 2012, Argentina was trying to ensure that the Catholic Church no longer enjoys so many privileges that in no way can be justified . Following the return of the sessions of the National Congress and the debate about the movement to renew the country's Civil and Commercial Code, the Argentine Coalition for a Secular State supported the idea of reviewing the norm that considers the Church a legal entity of a public nature and demands that its benefits be annulled.
It is usually considered of great importance to modify the article that contains the aforementioned norm, since it gives this institution privileges typical of a State agency, such as protecting its assets against a 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 that are included in it.
Furthermore, this prerogative was introduced in 1968, a time when the dictator Juan Carlos Onganía was ruling, whose repudiated memory is associated with the famous Night of the Long Canes , the consequent "brain drain" and the censorship and repression that his mandate meant for Argentina .
Once said article was modified, it was explained, the Church would become part of the group of private people, just like the rest of the organizations. This fact would be very significant and necessary to amend one of the many mistakes that were made during the Onganía government, although this unfair granting of rights was certainly not his worst decision.