1966 · Civil codes

Portuguese Civil Code

Portugal

Portugal's modern civil code, replacing the code of 1867.

Why it matters

Its structure and ideas also shaped the law of Portuguese-speaking countries such as Angola and Mozambique.

Built on

1896 (in force 1900)

German Civil Code (BGB)

Germany

took the German code's structure and technique

1942

Italian Civil Code of 1942

Italy

also drew on the Italian code

Went on to shape

No later text on this timeline is recorded as built on it.

Countries in the Legal Families Atlas

Portugal

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TheLawToKnow Tools’s timeline lists links of influence only where the borrowing is widely documented. Historians sometimes disagree about how much one text shaped another. It is an educational overview, not legal advice.