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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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541
Article 541 Civil Law · Du Partage et des Rapports
Succession Law
The action for rescission on grounds of fraud or violence may no longer be brought by the co-heir who has alienated all or part of...
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The action for rescission on grounds of fraud or violence may no longer be brought by the co-heir who has alienated all or part of his lot after the discovery of the fraud or the cessation of the violence.

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542
Article 542 Civil Law
Succession Law
One may dispose of one's property gratuitously, either by inter vivos donation or by testament, observing however the rules hereafter prescribed.
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One may dispose of one's property gratuitously, either by inter vivos donation or by testament, observing however the rules hereafter prescribed.

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543
Article 543 Civil Law
Succession Law
An inter vivos donation is an act by which the donor divests himself, immediately and forever, in favor of the donee who accepts the donation,...
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An inter vivos donation is an act by which the donor divests himself, immediately and forever, in favor of the donee who accepts the donation, of all his rights of ownership and claims on the thing given, except for dispositions involving donations of cultivated or cultivable land. Such inter vivos donations shall be valid and effective only insofar as they have been submitted to the king's privy council, which shall decide whether the donee's means are sufficient to cultivate the land given; if not, the donation shall be null, unless circumstances or other considerations favor the donee.

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544
Article 544 Civil Law
Succession Law
A testament is an act by which the testator disposes of all or part of his property; this act, which must be known and have...
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A testament is an act by which the testator disposes of all or part of his property; this act, which must be known and have effect only at the testator's death, may be revoked by him until his last moment. Every testamentary disposition involving land donations is, like inter vivos donations, subject to the formalities prescribed by the preceding article.

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545
Article 545 Civil Law
Succession Law
Substitutions are prohibited. Any clause inserted in an inter vivos donation or testament, by which the donee, instituted heir, or legatee is charged with preserving...
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Substitutions are prohibited. Any clause inserted in an inter vivos donation or testament, by which the donee, instituted heir, or legatee is charged with preserving the thing given to then return it to a third party, is null and of no effect, even as to the donee, instituted heir, or legatee. Nevertheless excepted are the dispositions of parents and siblings, which will be addressed in Chapter V of this Title.

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546
Article 546 Civil Law
Succession Law
Shall not be considered a substitution, and shall be valid, any disposition calling a third party to receive a gift, inheritance, or legacy in the...
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Shall not be considered a substitution, and shall be valid, any disposition calling a third party to receive a gift, inheritance, or legacy in the case where the donee, instituted heir, or legatee cannot receive it. Equally valid is the disposition by which enjoyment or usufruct is given to one, and ownership to another.

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547
Article 547 Civil Law
Succession Law
Clauses whose execution would be impossible, those that derogate from the laws, or those contrary to public order and good morals, shall be regarded as...
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Clauses whose execution would be impossible, those that derogate from the laws, or those contrary to public order and good morals, shall be regarded as null and void and as unwritten in the act.

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548
Article 548 Civil Law · De la Capacité de disposer ou de recevoir par Donation entre-vifs ou par Testament
Succession Law
No one may dispose, either by inter vivos donation or by testament, unless he is of sound mind. Except for persons recognized as incapable by...
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No one may dispose, either by inter vivos donation or by testament, unless he is of sound mind. Except for persons recognized as incapable by law, all others may dispose and receive by donation or testament.

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549
Article 549 Civil Law · De la Capacité de disposer ou de recevoir par Donation entre-vifs ou par Testament
Succession Law
A minor who has not reached sixteen may make no donation except in accordance with Chapter VIII governing spousal donations; but a minor aged sixteen...
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A minor who has not reached sixteen may make no donation except in accordance with Chapter VIII governing spousal donations; but a minor aged sixteen may, by testament only, dispose of up to half the property a major may give under the law.

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550
Article 550 Civil Law · De la Capacité de disposer ou de recevoir par Donation entre-vifs ou par Testament
Succession Law
An adult married woman, not in community of property or separated as to property, may make a valid inter vivos donation without needing the assistance...
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An adult married woman, not in community of property or separated as to property, may make a valid inter vivos donation without needing the assistance or consent of her husband, or judicial authorization, as well as to dispose by testament.

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551
Article 551 Civil Law · De la Capacité de disposer ou de recevoir par Donation entre-vifs ou par Testament
Succession Law
A child conceived at the time of the inter vivos donation is deemed capable of receiving the benefit. A child conceived at the time of...
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A child conceived at the time of the inter vivos donation is deemed capable of receiving the benefit. A child conceived at the time of the testator's death is deemed capable of receiving by testament. The donation or testament shall have effect only if the child is born alive and viable.

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552
Article 552 Civil Law · De la Capacité de disposer ou de recevoir par Donation entre-vifs ou par Testament
Succession Law
A minor, even if sixteen, may not make any disposition by donation or testament in favor of his guardian. A minor who has reached majority...
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A minor, even if sixteen, may not make any disposition by donation or testament in favor of his guardian. A minor who has reached majority may likewise not dispose in favor of his former guardian unless the latter has first rendered and settled the final guardianship account. The above two cases do not apply to ascendants of minors in their capacity as guardians.

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553
Article 553 Civil Law · De la Capacité de disposer ou de recevoir par Donation entre-vifs ou par Testament
Succession Law
Natural children may receive from their father and mother, by donation or testament, only what is granted to them under the Title on Successions.
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Natural children may receive from their father and mother, by donation or testament, only what is granted to them under the Title on Successions.

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554
Article 554 Civil Law · De la Capacité de disposer ou de recevoir par Donation entre-vifs ou par Testament
Succession Law
Physicians, surgeons, pharmacists who treated a person during the illness from which he died, and clergymen who administered the sacraments, may not receive gifts or...
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Physicians, surgeons, pharmacists who treated a person during the illness from which he died, and clergymen who administered the sacraments, may not receive gifts or legacies made to them during the last illness. However, this does not apply to remuneratory gifts or legacies made by particular title and proportionate to the means of the donor and the services rendered; nor to universal legacies in favor of a relative up to the fourth degree inclusive, provided the deceased has no direct heirs or the universal legatee is himself one of those heirs.

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555
Article 555 Civil Law · De la Capacité de disposer ou de recevoir par Donation entre-vifs ou par Testament
Succession Law
Inter vivos or testamentary donations in favor of a hospital, the poor of a parish, or a public establishment shall benefit them only after the...
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Inter vivos or testamentary donations in favor of a hospital, the poor of a parish, or a public establishment shall benefit them only after the directors or administrators of these establishments have obtained the king's authorization to accept said donations.

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556
Article 556 Civil Law · De la Capacité de disposer ou de recevoir par Donation entre-vifs ou par Testament
Succession Law
Any disposition in favor of an incapable person shall have no effect, whether made in the form of an onerous contract or under the name...
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Any disposition in favor of an incapable person shall have no effect, whether made in the form of an onerous contract or under the name of interposed persons, such as the parents, children and descendants, and spouse of the incapable; who in this case shall be considered interposed persons.

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557
Article 557 Civil Law · De la portion de Biens disponibles et de la réduction
Succession Law
Liberalities, by inter vivos act or testament, are regulated according to the number of legitimate children the donor leaves at his death. If he leaves...
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Liberalities, by inter vivos act or testament, are regulated according to the number of legitimate children the donor leaves at his death. If he leaves only one, his liberalities may not exceed half his property; one-third if two; one-quarter if three or more. Descendants at any degree are counted by the line of the child they represent.

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558
Article 558 Civil Law · De la portion de Biens disponibles et de la réduction
Succession Law
If, in default of children, the donor leaves at death one or more ascendants in both the paternal and maternal lines, his liberalities may likewise...
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If, in default of children, the donor leaves at death one or more ascendants in both the paternal and maternal lines, his liberalities may likewise not exceed half his property; nor three-quarters if he leaves ascendants in only one line.

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559
Article 559 Civil Law · De la portion de Biens disponibles et de la réduction
Succession Law
Ascendants shall collect, following the order of succession established by law, the property reserved to them in the preceding article; and in all cases where...
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Ascendants shall collect, following the order of succession established by law, the property reserved to them in the preceding article; and in all cases where a partition concurrently with collaterals would require a reduction of the reserved portion, the ascendants alone shall have the right to this reserve to the exclusion of all others.

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560
Article 560 Civil Law · De la portion de Biens disponibles et de la réduction
Succession Law
If the donor leaves at death neither descendant nor ascendant, he may, by inter vivos act or testament, give the entirety of his property in...
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If the donor leaves at death neither descendant nor ascendant, he may, by inter vivos act or testament, give the entirety of his property in liberality.

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