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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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17
Article 17 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des délits et peines correctionnelles
Criminal Law
Whoever is convicted of having cheated, whether on the grade of gold or silver, on the quality of a false stone sold as genuine, or...
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Whoever is convicted of having cheated, whether on the grade of gold or silver, on the quality of a false stone sold as genuine, or on any other fraudulently sold merchandise or goods, or knowingly misrepresenting quality, besides confiscation of the offending merchandise and restitution to the buyer, shall be condemned to a fine of one hundred to three hundred gourdes, and detention at the royal prison of no less than three months nor more than one year.

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18
Article 18 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des délits et peines correctionnelles
Criminal Law
Any person who enters and hides in a house, whether by day or night, without valid reasons, shall be punished with three months' detention at...
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Any person who enters and hides in a house, whether by day or night, without valid reasons, shall be punished with three months' detention at the royal prison, and one year in case of repeat offense; and if found carrying weapons, shall be punished as for burglary.

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19
Article 19 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des délits et peines correctionnelles
Criminal Law
Whoever displaces or removes boundary markers or other recognized landmarks between different properties shall, besides damages and costs to the parties, be condemned to a...
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Whoever displaces or removes boundary markers or other recognized landmarks between different properties shall, besides damages and costs to the parties, be condemned to a fine of fifty gourdes and detention at the royal prison not exceeding one year; detention may be up to two years at the barrière neuve if the removal was done to usurp.

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20
Article 20 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des délits et peines correctionnelles
Criminal Law
Any person operating a public establishment, such as a café, inn, or public bath, is liable for all thefts committed on the premises; and besides...
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Any person operating a public establishment, such as a café, inn, or public bath, is liable for all thefts committed on the premises; and besides the return or payment of stolen objects, shall be punished with one year's detention at the royal prison; if complicit, shall be condemned to the penalty incurred by the thief.

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21
Article 21 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des délits et peines correctionnelles
Criminal Law
Theft committed in an enclosed and closed terrain shall be punished by one year's detention at the royal prison, and three years if committed at...
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Theft committed in an enclosed and closed terrain shall be punished by one year's detention at the royal prison, and three years if committed at night.

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22
Article 22 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des délits et peines correctionnelles
Criminal Law
The theft of farming tools, carts, beasts of burden, animals used in cultivation, horses, and mules shall be punished as stated in the preceding article;...
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The theft of farming tools, carts, beasts of burden, animals used in cultivation, horses, and mules shall be punished as stated in the preceding article; and in case of repeat offense, punished as burglary.

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23
Article 23 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des délits et peines correctionnelles
Criminal Law
All rural offenses mentioned in the Rural Law, punishable by detention at the royal prison not exceeding one year, and a fine of more than...
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All rural offenses mentioned in the Rural Law, punishable by detention at the royal prison not exceeding one year, and a fine of more than twenty-five gourdes up to three hundred, are correctional offenses and shall be pursued and judged as such; subject to repeat offense, which shall incur double penalty, if not otherwise determined by a provision of the law.

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24
Article 24 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des délits et peines correctionnelles
Criminal Law
The penalty incurred by one whose animal, vehicle, or mount has injured someone shall be, according to circumstances, a fine of twenty-five to fifty gourdes,...
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The penalty incurred by one whose animal, vehicle, or mount has injured someone shall be, according to circumstances, a fine of twenty-five to fifty gourdes, and detention of one to four months at the royal prison; subject to criminal proceedings if the case warrants.

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25
Article 25 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des crimes contre la sûreté et la tranquillité intérieure du Royaume
Criminal Law
All those guilty of conspiracies and plots tending to disturb the kingdom by civil war, or to arm citizens against legitimate authority, those who had...
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All those guilty of conspiracies and plots tending to disturb the kingdom by civil war, or to arm citizens against legitimate authority, those who had intelligence with enemies, as well as those guilty of conspiracies or attempts against the sacred person of the king, the queen, the royal prince, and the royal princesses, shall be punished by death, their property confiscated, and their families stigmatized and dishonored. The same penalty shall be suffered by all accomplices and adherents, as well as those who, having knowledge of these crimes, failed to identify the perpetrators.

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26
Article 26 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des crimes contre la sûreté et la tranquillité intérieure du Royaume
Criminal Law
A public official convicted of having abused the government's trust and diverted to his profit public funds for which he was accountable shall be imprisoned...
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A public official convicted of having abused the government's trust and diverted to his profit public funds for which he was accountable shall be imprisoned for ten years at the barrière neuve, and condemned to restore double what he diverted.

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27
Article 27 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des crimes contre la sûreté et la tranquillité intérieure du Royaume
Criminal Law
All persons charged with collecting public revenues, who are convicted of having abused their authority to demand payments not owed, shall be deemed guilty of...
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All persons charged with collecting public revenues, who are convicted of having abused their authority to demand payments not owed, shall be deemed guilty of extortion, and punished with three years at the barrière neuve. Without prejudice to the restitution of sums and goods illegally collected.

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Article 28 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des crimes contre la sûreté et la tranquillité intérieure du Royaume
Criminal Law
Any public official who abuses his authority in the exercise of his functions shall be punished with three months at the barrière neuve.
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Any public official who abuses his authority in the exercise of his functions shall be punished with three months at the barrière neuve.

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Article 29 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des crimes contre la sûreté et la tranquillité intérieure du Royaume
Criminal Law
A public official who diverts or removes the funds, effects, titles, or papers of which he is custodian by reason of his functions and a...
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A public official who diverts or removes the funds, effects, titles, or papers of which he is custodian by reason of his functions and a necessary trust, shall be punished with three years at the barrière neuve.

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30
Article 30 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des crimes contre la sûreté et la tranquillité intérieure du Royaume
Criminal Law
Any hoarder or monopolist, besides the confiscation of the hoarded objects, shall be punished with three months at the barrière neuve.
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Any hoarder or monopolist, besides the confiscation of the hoarded objects, shall be punished with three months at the barrière neuve.

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31
Article 31 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des crimes contre la sûreté et la tranquillité intérieure du Royaume
Criminal Law
Whoever is convicted of having counterfeited the kingdom's hallmarks, used to stamp gold and silver, shall be punished with twenty years of galley service.
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Whoever is convicted of having counterfeited the kingdom's hallmarks, used to stamp gold and silver, shall be punished with twenty years of galley service.

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32
Article 32 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des crimes contre la sûreté et la tranquillité intérieure du Royaume
Criminal Law
Any director of the royal prisons or barrières neuves, who voluntarily permitted or allowed the escape of a legally detained prisoner in his custody, shall...
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Any director of the royal prisons or barrières neuves, who voluntarily permitted or allowed the escape of a legally detained prisoner in his custody, shall suffer the penalty that would have been inflicted on the escaped detainee if he was a criminal; and if the detainee was only imprisoned for a simple police or correctional offense, the director shall be dismissed and condemned to triple the penalty incurred by the escaped detainee.

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33
Article 33 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des crimes contre la sûreté et la tranquillité intérieure du Royaume
Criminal Law
The escorts of accused persons entrusted to their custody, who allow them to escape or facilitate their escapes, shall suffer the same penalties as those...
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The escorts of accused persons entrusted to their custody, who allow them to escape or facilitate their escapes, shall suffer the same penalties as those inflicted in the preceding article on the directors of royal prisons and barrières neuves.

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Article 34 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des crimes contre la sûreté et la tranquillité intérieure du Royaume
Criminal Law
Any person convicted of having attempted to free, by force, a legally detained prisoner, or of facilitating his escape, shall be punished with three to...
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Any person convicted of having attempted to free, by force, a legally detained prisoner, or of facilitating his escape, shall be punished with three to six months' detention at the royal prison, as a correctional penalty. If the offender was carrying lethal weapons, the penalty shall be one year at the barrière neuve. If the crime is committed by two or more persons together without weapons, the penalty shall be two years at the barrière neuve. And if the offenders were armed, the penalty shall be doubled; the leaders and instigators shall be punished by death.

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35
Article 35 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des crimes contre la sûreté et la tranquillité intérieure du Royaume
Criminal Law
Any judge who, in criminal matters, is convicted of having sold his opinion, whether for money or promises, shall be punished by death; and if...
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Any judge who, in criminal matters, is convicted of having sold his opinion, whether for money or promises, shall be punished by death; and if in civil matters, he shall be condemned to three years at the barrière neuve.

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36
Article 36 Criminal, Correctional and Police Law · Des crimes contre la sûreté et la tranquillité intérieure du Royaume
Criminal Law
Any person who insults or outrages a public official, by gesture or threat, during the exercise of his functions, shall be condemned to five years...
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Any person who insults or outrages a public official, by gesture or threat, during the exercise of his functions, shall be condemned to five years at the barrière neuve; the penalty may be increased according to the circumstances, the gravity of the case, and the rank of the insulted official.