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Louisiana Civil Code Online

This site gives access to the current version of the Louisiana Civil Code in its original English text. It also gives access to the French and Spanish translations produced by the Center of Civil Law Studies at LSU. While the French translation was completed in 2016, the Spanish translation is still a work in progress.

These translations have no official legal standing. Scholars and practitioners should remember that the English version controls, and are encouraged to double-check with the website of the Louisiana Legislature for the latest changes to the current Civil Code. Both English and French texts stand as revised and amended through the 2023 legislative sessions.

The French Translation

The French translation project was completed in July 2016, with the support of a Partner University Fund grant, supporting transatlantic partnerships around research and higher education, by the FACE Foundation, supporting French-American cultural exchange in education and the arts. It was conducted in partnership with the Université de Nantes, France.

Reference is made to the Civil Code of 1825 when no or little change has been made to the original French. The French and English versions of the old codes may be consulted online in the Compiled Edition of the Civil Codes of Louisiana.

All comments or suggestions may be emailed to Prof. Olivier Moréteau.

For more information on the project, see:

The bilingual Code is also accessible in print: see Publications.

FACE Foundation logoCe site donne accès au Code civil louisArc de Triompheianais dans sa version originale en anglais. Pendant plus de cinq ans, le Centre de droit civil à LSU a produit une traduction en français maintenant entièrement accessible sur ce site. Cette traduction n’a pas de valeur officielle. Chercheurs et praticiens ne doivent pas oublier que seule la version anglaise fait foi, et sont vivement encouragés à visiter le site de la législature de l’état de Louisiane pour vérifier les derniers changements. Les textes anglais et français sont à jour des révisions et modifications apportées lors des sessions législatives de l’année 2023.

Le projet de traduction en français a été achevé en juillet 2016, grâce à une subvention Partner University Fund de la Fondation FACE, en collaboration avec les services culturels de l’Ambassade de France aux États-Unis.Cover page of the book "Code Civil de Louisiane - édition bilingue"

Il fut mené en partenariat avec l’Université de Nantes.

Des renvois au Code civil de 1825 ont été ajoutés lorsque le texte n’a pas ou peu changé depuis le français d’origine. Les versions françaises et anglaises des anciens codes peuvent être consultées en ligne à partir de la Compiled Edition of the Civil Codes of Louisiana.

Pour tout commentaire ou suggestion, veuillez contacter le Pr Olivier Moréteau.

Pour plus d’information sur le projet, voir O. Moréteau, Le Code civil de Louisiane en français: traduction et retraduction.

Cliquez sur Publications pour voir Le Code civil de Louisiane, édition bilingue.

 

The Spanish Translation

The Spanish translation project was launched in 2020 and is still in progress. Based on the experience of the French translation, the effort is led by Prof. Olivier Moréteau and executed by Prof. Mariano Vitetta, LSU LL.M. graduate (2020), CCLS Research Associate (2020-2021), a professional translator and a law professor at the Austral University in Buenos Aires. María Natalia Rezzonico, a certified translator and lawyer, acts as the reviser, while a Validation Committee reviews the translation and makes recommendations.

The translation is progressively published on the Louisiana Civil Code Online website. The Preliminary Title, Book 1 (persons), Book 2 (things and ownership), Titles 3 to 5 of Book 3 (obligations), Book 4 (conflict of laws) are accessible from this webpage. Excerpts of the translation are published alongside with the English text and occasionally with the French in the Journal of Civil Law Studies. A Trilingual English-French-Spanish Civil Code of Louisiana will be published once the Spanish translation is completed.

All comments or suggestions may be emailed to Prof. Olivier Moréteau and Prof. Mariano Vitetta.

For more information on the project, see: