1889 · Civil codes

Spanish Civil Code

Spain

Spain's national civil code, written to unify private law while keeping some regional civil laws.

Why it matters

It was extended to Spain's colonies, and its model influenced Latin America and the Philippines.

Built on

1804

French Civil Code (Napoleonic Code)

France

borrowed ideas and structure, combined with Spanish tradition

Went on to shape

1949 (in force 1950)

Civil Code of the Philippines

Philippines

kept much of the Spanish code's structure

Countries in the Legal Families Atlas

Spain

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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.