Swiss Civil Code

Swiss Civil Code, body of private law codified by the jurist Eugen Huber at the end of the 19th century; it was adopted in 1907 and went into effect in 1912, and it remains in force, with modifications, in present-day Switzerland. Because Huber’s work was completed after the Napoleonic Code (q.v.) of 1804 and the German Civil Code (q.v.) of 1896, he was able to avoid many of the difficulties that earlier codifiers had faced. Although influenced by both codes, Huber included much material indigenous to Switzerland.

The code begins with a brief introductory section setting forth the details of its application. This is followed by four books: the first covers the law of persons and includes a section on the law of associations similar in form to the German Civil Code; the second deals with family matters and, specifically, with problems of matrimonial regimes and guardianship; the third covers succession; and the last, property. A separate federal code of commercial and personal obligation went into effect in 1881, serving as a companion piece to the civil code.

During the 19th century Switzerland’s 25 cantons had various, and often conflicting, customs. Customs often diverged even within cantons. Many of the cantons began very early to experiment with codification. In the French cantons the influence of the Napoleonic Code was apparent, but the predominance of local custom in areas such as guardianship and matrimonial regimes made for little continuity from canton to canton. In the German areas the confusion was even greater, although the Civil Code of Zürich (1853–55) served as a model for some of the later codifications.

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civil law: Swiss law

National codification was prevented by provisions of the 1848 constitution that left problems of private law to the individual cantons. These difficulties were mitigated after 1872, when the federal government was empowered to deal with certain civil-law problems, primarily those involving commerce. The first result was the federal Code of Obligations of 1881, which regularized the law of commerce and exchange. There was still, however, no overriding code of private law. There were numerous types of succession laws. In some areas the place in which one resided took precedence over one’s birthplace, but in other areas the reverse was the case.

In 1896 the federation assumed the authority to deal with matters of civil law. Huber was appointed to produce a preliminary draft, and in 1901 a commission was set up to consider it. Its draft, with very few changes from Huber’s original, was adopted in 1907 and went into effect in 1912. The code introduced a land-registry system and made changes in many aspects of family and inheritance law. Above all, it provided much-needed uniformity in Swiss private law.

The Swiss Civil Code was later copied by Turkey and influenced the codes of several states, such as Peru.