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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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821
Article 821 Civil Law · Des Diverses espèces d'Obligations
Contract Law
The creditor has the choice against the debtor in default, either to pursue him for performance of the principal obligation, or to demand the stipulated...
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The creditor has the choice against the debtor in default, either to pursue him for performance of the principal obligation, or to demand the stipulated penalty.

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822
Article 822 Civil Law · Des Diverses espèces d'Obligations
Contract Law
The penal clause being the compensation of damages and interest due to the creditor for non-performance of the convention; he cannot simultaneously demand the principal...
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The penal clause being the compensation of damages and interest due to the creditor for non-performance of the convention; he cannot simultaneously demand the principal and the penalty, unless the penalty was stipulated for mere delay.

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823
Article 823 Civil Law · Des Diverses espèces d'Obligations
Contract Law
Whether the obligation contains a term or not, the debtor who has bound himself to deliver, take, or do a thing shall incur the penalty...
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Whether the obligation contains a term or not, the debtor who has bound himself to deliver, take, or do a thing shall incur the penalty only after having been placed in default.

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824
Article 824 Civil Law · Des Diverses espèces d'Obligations
Contract Law
The principal obligation having been partly performed, the judge may modify the penalty.
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The principal obligation having been partly performed, the judge may modify the penalty.

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825
Article 825 Civil Law · Des Diverses espèces d'Obligations
Contract Law
The violation by a single heir of the debtor of an obligation for an indivisible thing, contracted with a penal clause, incurs the penalty; it...
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The violation by a single heir of the debtor of an obligation for an indivisible thing, contracted with a penal clause, incurs the penalty; it may be demanded either in full from the one who committed the violation, or from each of the co-heirs for their share and portion, and by mortgage for the whole, with their recourse against the violator who incurred the penalty.

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826
Article 826 Civil Law · Des Diverses espèces d'Obligations
Contract Law
The heir of a debtor of a primitive divisible obligation, contracted with a penal clause, who violates the obligation, can be held to the penalty...
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The heir of a debtor of a primitive divisible obligation, contracted with a penal clause, who violates the obligation, can be held to the penalty only in proportion to his share of the principal obligation, with no action against those who performed it; there is, however, an exception to this rule if the penal clause was added with the intention that payment could not be made partially; for in that case, the heir who prevents full performance of the obligation would be liable for the entire penalty, which may be demanded against him and against the other co-heirs for their portion only, with their recourse.

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827
Article 827 Civil Law · De l'Extinction des Obligations
Contract Law
Obligations are extinguished: 1st. By payment; 2nd. By voluntary release; 3rd. By set-off; 4th. By confusion; 5th. By novation; 6th. By loss of the thing;...
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Obligations are extinguished: 1st. By payment; 2nd. By voluntary release; 3rd. By set-off; 4th. By confusion; 5th. By novation; 6th. By loss of the thing; 7th. By nullity or rescission; 8th. By the resolutory condition; 9th. By prescription.

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828
Article 828 Civil Law · De l'Extinction des Obligations
Contract Law
Every payment presupposes a debt; what was paid without being owed may be recovered; but the action for recovery shall not be admitted for natural...
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Every payment presupposes a debt; what was paid without being owed may be recovered; but the action for recovery shall not be admitted for natural obligations voluntarily discharged.

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829
Article 829 Civil Law · De l'Extinction des Obligations
Contract Law
Any co-obligor or surety of an obligation may discharge it; it may even be discharged by a third party, although not interested therein, if acting...
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Any co-obligor or surety of an obligation may discharge it; it may even be discharged by a third party, although not interested therein, if acting in the name and on behalf of the debtor, or acting in his own name, provided he is not subrogated to the creditor's rights.

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830
Article 830 Civil Law · De l'Extinction des Obligations
Contract Law
An obligation to do something that must be performed by the debtor himself cannot be discharged by a third party without the creditor's consent.
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An obligation to do something that must be performed by the debtor himself cannot be discharged by a third party without the creditor's consent.

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831
Article 831 Civil Law · De l'Extinction des Obligations
Contract Law
A person who is not the owner of the thing given in payment, or who is not capable of alienating, does not pay validly. However,...
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A person who is not the owner of the thing given in payment, or who is not capable of alienating, does not pay validly.

However, payment made with things consumed by use, such as money, cannot be recovered from the creditor who has consumed them in good faith, even though made by a person who was not the owner or by one incapable of alienating.

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832
Article 832 Civil Law · De l'Extinction des Obligations
Contract Law
Payment can only be made to the creditor, or to one who has his authority, or who is authorized by law or by the court...
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Payment can only be made to the creditor, or to one who has his authority, or who is authorized by law or by the court to receive on his behalf.

Payment, although made to a person not authorized to receive, shall be valid if the creditor ratifies it, or if he has benefited from it.

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833
Article 833 Civil Law · De l'Extinction des Obligations
Contract Law
Any payment made in good faith to the possessor of the debt is valid, even if the possessor is subsequently evicted.
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Any payment made in good faith to the possessor of the debt is valid, even if the possessor is subsequently evicted.

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834
Article 834 Civil Law · De l'Extinction des Obligations
Contract Law
Payment made to a creditor incapable of receiving is valid only if the debtor proves that what was given in payment benefited the creditor.
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Payment made to a creditor incapable of receiving is valid only if the debtor proves that what was given in payment benefited the creditor.

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835
Article 835 Civil Law · De l'Extinction des Obligations
Contract Law
If the debtor in whose hands a seizure or oppositions have been made has paid his creditor, such payment shall not be valid with regard...
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If the debtor in whose hands a seizure or oppositions have been made has paid his creditor, such payment shall not be valid with regard to the seizing or opposing parties who, according to their rights, may compel him to pay again, with the debtor's recourse against his creditor.

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836
Article 836 Civil Law · De l'Extinction des Obligations
Contract Law
A creditor may be compelled to receive only the thing that is owed to him, and not another, even if of equal or greater value.
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A creditor may be compelled to receive only the thing that is owed to him, and not another, even if of equal or greater value.

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837
Article 837 Civil Law · De l'Extinction des Obligations
Contract Law
The creditor of a debt, even a divisible one, cannot be compelled to receive partial payment. Nevertheless, the judges may, considering the debtor's situation and...
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The creditor of a debt, even a divisible one, cannot be compelled to receive partial payment.

Nevertheless, the judges may, considering the debtor's situation and using this power only with great reserve, grant moderate delays for payment, with proceedings being suspended and all things remaining in their current state.

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838
Article 838 Civil Law · De l'Extinction des Obligations
Contract Law
Every debtor of a specific and determined thing shall be discharged by delivering the thing in the state in which it is found at the...
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Every debtor of a specific and determined thing shall be discharged by delivering the thing in the state in which it is found at the time of delivery, if the deterioration it has suffered does not result from his act or fault, nor from persons for whom he is responsible, or if he was not in default when the deterioration occurred.

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839
Article 839 Civil Law · De l'Extinction des Obligations
Contract Law
The debtor of a thing determined only by its kind shall not be required to give the best quality to be discharged, but neither may...
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The debtor of a thing determined only by its kind shall not be required to give the best quality to be discharged, but neither may he offer the worst.

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840
Article 840 Civil Law · De l'Extinction des Obligations
Contract Law
If the place of payment of the obligation is designated in the act, payment must be made there; but if it has not been designated...
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If the place of payment of the obligation is designated in the act, payment must be made there; but if it has not been designated and the matter concerns a specific and determined thing, payment shall be made at the place where the thing was at the time of the obligation.

Payment, outside these two cases, must be made at the debtor's domicile, who bears all the costs, however it is effected.

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