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Code Henry

The first comprehensive legal code of the Kingdom of Haiti, promulgated by King Henry Christophe on February 20, 1812 — a sovereign act of juridical self-determination just eight years after the world's only successful slave revolution produced an independent nation. This digital edition presents the complete Code in 3,004 articles spanning 8 laws and 67 titres — from the Loi Civile's 1,535 articles on personhood, marriage, property, and succession, to the Loi sur la Procédure Criminelle's 421 articles on investigation, confrontation, and royal clemency. Every article has been hand-extracted from 19th-century OCR, corrected, translated into English, and annotated with plain-language life lessons and scholarly notes. Browse in French, English, or Kreyòl Ayisyen. 3,004 articles · 8 laws · 3 languages · 213 years restored

3,004 articles in the Code Henry

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181
Article 181 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Family Law
The age of seventy dispenses from guardianship. A person who reaches this age after having fulfilled these functions may have himself discharged. The same applies...
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The age of seventy dispenses from guardianship. A person who reaches this age after having fulfilled these functions may have himself discharged. The same applies to any individual suffering from a serious and duly proven infirmity, or one that occurred during his management.

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182
Article 182 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Family Law
Whoever is charged with one guardianship may refuse to accept a second, except that of his own children.
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Whoever is charged with one guardianship may refuse to accept a second, except that of his own children.

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183
Article 183 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Civil Procedure
A person who is present at his appointment to a guardianship and does not immediately raise objections before the family council regarding said appointment shall...
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A person who is present at his appointment to a guardianship and does not immediately raise objections before the family council regarding said appointment shall no longer be entitled to do so.

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184
Article 184 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Civil Procedure
The family council may be convened by a person who was not present at the deliberation that appointed him guardian, for the purpose of receiving...
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The family council may be convened by a person who was not present at the deliberation that appointed him guardian, for the purpose of receiving his excuses; but he shall be barred if he has allowed the three-day period following notification of his appointment to expire; this period shall be increased by one day per ten leagues from his domicile to the place where the guardianship was opened.

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185
Article 185 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Judicial Procedure
If the family council does not accept his excuses, he shall appeal before the superior council to have them accepted, if warranted; and until the...
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If the family council does not accept his excuses, he shall appeal before the superior council to have them accepted, if warranted; and until the decision of that court, he shall administer provisionally.

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186
Article 186 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Judicial Procedure
The costs of the proceedings shall be borne by those who rejected the guardian's excuse, in the case where the exemption is pronounced in favor...
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The costs of the proceedings shall be borne by those who rejected the guardian's excuse, in the case where the exemption is pronounced in favor of the latter. But if the court rules against the guardian, he shall bear the costs of the proceedings.

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187
Article 187 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Civil Administration
Guardians and members of the family council may not be taken from among minors, except the father or mother. Interdicted persons, women other than the...
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Guardians and members of the family council may not be taken from among minors, except the father or mother. Interdicted persons, women other than the mother, those who have a lawsuit with the minor of a nature to compromise his status or fortune, persons sentenced to afflictive penalties, and those whose misconduct, incapacity, or unfaithfulness are notorious, may not be appointed, and would even be removable if they had been.

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188
Article 188 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Civil Administration
Exclusion from or removal from a guardianship deprives the individual so affected of the right to be part of a family council.
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Exclusion from or removal from a guardianship deprives the individual so affected of the right to be part of a family council.

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189
Article 189 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Judicial Procedure
The family council decides whether or not to remove the guardian; it is convened either at the diligence of the surrogate guardian, at the formal...
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The family council decides whether or not to remove the guardian; it is convened either at the diligence of the surrogate guardian, at the formal request of one or more relatives or persons related by marriage of the minor to the degree of first cousin, or even ex officio by the seneschal, king's prosecutor, or lieutenant judge; it must state the reasons that provoked the exclusion or removal of the guardian, who must be heard or summoned before it can be pronounced.

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190
Article 190 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Judicial Procedure
If there is no objection from the removed guardian, mention thereof is made and the replacement enters office immediately; in case of objection, the homologation...
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If there is no objection from the removed guardian, mention thereof is made and the replacement enters office immediately; in case of objection, the homologation of the deliberation shall be pursued by the surrogate guardian before the seneschalsy, which shall decide it as an urgent matter, subject to appeal. The removed guardian may likewise summon the surrogate guardian to be maintained in his guardianship.

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191
Article 191 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Accountability
The guardian is obliged to provide all paternal care toward the minor. He must administer his property as a good father of a family; he...
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The guardian is obliged to provide all paternal care toward the minor. He must administer his property as a good father of a family; he is liable for damages resulting from mismanagement; finally, he is required to represent him in all civil acts. He may not accept the assignment of any claim or right against his ward, nor purchase his property, nor even lease it, unless he has obtained the authorization of the family council; and in that case, the surrogate guardian shall execute the lease of said property.

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192
Article 192 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Accountability
If seals have been affixed, the guardian shall be required to have them lifted within eight days of learning of his appointment; and immediately, in...
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If seals have been affixed, the guardian shall be required to have them lifted within eight days of learning of his appointment; and immediately, in the presence of the surrogate guardian, an inventory of the minor's property shall be made. If the minor owes something to his guardian, the guardian shall declare this in the inventory, at the request of the king's prosecutor or lieutenant judge, and mention shall be made in the report, under penalty of forfeiture of all his rights.

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193
Article 193 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Accountability
One month after the closing of the inventory, the movable property belonging to the minor shall be publicly sold to the highest bidder by an...
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One month after the closing of the inventory, the movable property belonging to the minor shall be publicly sold to the highest bidder by an officer appointed ex officio, in the presence of the surrogate guardian. Only fathers and mothers may decline to sell them, so long as they are usufructuaries of the minor's property, if they prefer to return them in kind; but in this case, they shall be required to have a fair appraisal made at their own expense, by arbitration, in the presence of the surrogate guardian.

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194
Article 194 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Accountability
As soon as a guardian enters office, unless it concerns the father and mother, the family council shall determine, in proportion to the importance of...
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As soon as a guardian enters office, unless it concerns the father and mother, the family council shall determine, in proportion to the importance of the managed assets, the annual sum that the minor's expenses and the administration of his property may require; and it shall be specified, in the same act, whether the guardian is authorized to engage one or more particular administrators to manage under his responsibility, who may be salaried.

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195
Article 195 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Accountability
Within six months, the guardian is required to invest, in the best interests of the minor, funds exceeding the expenses of both the minor and...
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Within six months, the guardian is required to invest, in the best interests of the minor, funds exceeding the expenses of both the minor and the guardianship. If he fails to make this investment, he shall be required to account to the minor for interest on all uninvested sums, however small.

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196
Article 196 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Accountability
The minor's immovable property may not be mortgaged or sold by the guardian, even if the father or mother; he may not even borrow without...
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The minor's immovable property may not be mortgaged or sold by the guardian, even if the father or mother; he may not even borrow without having been specifically authorized by the family council, which shall, at the guardian's diligence and upon the conclusions of the king's prosecutor, have this deliberation homologated at the seneschalsy; only in cases of absolute necessity or of an advantageous prospect clearly proven for the minor.

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197
Article 197 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Accountability
For any guardian to be authorized to alienate or mortgage the minor's immovable property, or even to borrow on the minor's behalf, a summary account...
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For any guardian to be authorized to alienate or mortgage the minor's immovable property, or even to borrow on the minor's behalf, a summary account exhibited by the guardian must positively establish the insufficiency of the minor's produce, movable effects, and revenues; this insufficiency recognized, the immovable property to be sold by preference, and all conditions the family council deems useful and appropriate, shall be carefully specified.

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198
Article 198 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Civil Procedure
When public sale has been permitted, it shall proceed in the presence of the surrogate guardian, by auction, which shall be received by a judge...
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When public sale has been permitted, it shall proceed in the presence of the surrogate guardian, by auction, which shall be received by a judge of the seneschalsy or by a notary expressly appointed for this purpose, after three publications have been made on three successive Sundays in the customary places.

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199
Article 199 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Civil Procedure
The formalities and conditions imposed on the guardian in case of borrowing, alienation, or mortgage of the minor's property cease to be necessary when, at...
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The formalities and conditions imposed on the guardian in case of borrowing, alienation, or mortgage of the minor's property cease to be necessary when, at the provocation of a co-owner in indivision, a judgment has been rendered ordering judicial sale, provided it is done legally; interested parties and outsiders shall necessarily be admitted.

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200
Article 200 Civil Law · De la Tutelle
Family Law
The right to accept or renounce a succession devolved upon the minor shall be granted to the guardian only by virtue of the prior authorization...
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The right to accept or renounce a succession devolved upon the minor shall be granted to the guardian only by virtue of the prior authorization of the family council. Acceptance shall occur only with benefit of inventory.

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