Louisiana law

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Law in the state of Louisiana is based in part on civil law. Louisiana is the only U.S. state partially based on French and Spanish codes and ultimately Roman law, as opposed to English common law.^[1] Louisiana thus follows the system of most non-Anglophone countries in the world. In Louisiana, private law is based on the Louisiana Civil Code.

It is incorrect to equate the Louisiana Civil Code with the Napoleonic Code. Although the Napoleonic Code strongly influenced Louisiana law, the Napoleonic Code was not enacted until 1804, one year after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. While the Louisiana Civil Code of 1808 has been continuously revised and updated since its enactment, it is still considered the controlling authority in the state.

Great differences still exist between Louisianian civil law and the common law found in the other U.S. states. Property, contractual, business entities structure, much of civil procedure, and family law are still strongly influenced by traditional Roman legal thinking. Concepts such as redhibition and lesion beyond moiety are still present in Louisiana law, and much of the terminology in the articles of the civil code is based on French and Roman law, rather than their common law analogues. While many of these differences have been bridged due to the strong influence of common law in the United States, it is important to note that the "civilian" tradition is still deeply rooted in most aspects of Louisiana private law and in some parts of criminal law. While other states tend to rule based on precedents, judges in Louisiana rule based on their own interpretation of the law.^[2]

The first Louisiana Civil Code was written in French and then translated into English. For many years legal practitioners in the state made great effort to ensure that the code agreed in both the English and the French versions. Despite decades of such effort, however, some clauses were only to be found in one version or the other. Due to modern legislative enactments which repeal and reenact Louisiana's civil code articles as any other collection of statutes, the differences between the original French and the English translation are now primarily of historical interest.