Chilean Civil Code

The Civil Code of the Republic of Chile (Código Civil de la República de Chile, also referred to as the Code of Bello) is the work of jurist and legislator Andrés Bello. After several years of individual work (though officially presented as the work of multiple Congress commissions), Bello delivered a complete project of the Code on November 22, 1855, which was sent to Congress by President Manuel Montt, preceded by a foreword by Bello himself. Congress passed the Civil Code into law on December 14, 1855. It then came into force on January 1, 1857. Although it has been the object of numerous alterations, the Code has been kept in force since then.

Traditionally, the Napoleonic Code has been considered the main source of inspiration for the Chilean Code. However, this is true only with regard to the law of obligations and the law of things (except for principle of abstraction), while it is not true at all in the matters of family and successions.

The indisputable main source of the Civil Code is the Siete Partidas (Seven-Part Code) of King Alfonso X, perhaps the pinnacle of Spanish ius commune. For instance, in relating the acquisition of property, the code makes a clear distinction between the titles and the actual acquisition of property, similarly to the Roman Law and the German Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch.

The traditional Spanish law is also manifested strongly in the matter of successions. This is true notwithstanding the important modernisations made by the Code, such as eliminating the preference for the males in the adjudication of the estate, the end of mayorazgos (the adjudication of the whole estate to the elder male son) and the adoption of a rule against successive ususfructs.

Similarly, it adopted the Canonical Law provisions regarding marriage.

The Code made important changes, inspired by the examples of European Codes in place or in preparation. Regarding the real estate, the Code was inspired by the old German registry system, adapting it to the necessities of the post-colonial economy. It was the first Civil Code containing especific provisions regarding the legal persons systematically.

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