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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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921
Article 921 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
When the original title exists, copies are proof only of what is contained in the title, the production of which may always be demanded.
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When the original title exists, copies are proof only of what is contained in the title, the production of which may always be demanded.

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922
Article 922 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
If the original title no longer exists, copies shall be proof only according to the following rules: 1°. Engrossed copies or first certified copies, those...
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If the original title no longer exists, copies shall be proof only according to the following rules:

1°. Engrossed copies or first certified copies, those drawn by authority of the magistrate with parties present or duly summoned, and those drawn by mutual consent of the parties in their presence;

2°. Old copies drawn from the minute of the act by the notary who received it, by one of his successors, or by public officers who are custodians of the minutes, even though without the magistrate's authority or the parties' consent, and since the delivery of the engrossed or first certified copies; copies, to be considered old, must be more than thirty years old; those of less than thirty years may serve only as a beginning of proof in writing;

3°. Those drawn from the minute of an act by a notary other than the one who received it or his successors, or by the public officer who, in that capacity, is custodian of the minutes, may serve only as a beginning of proof in writing, however old they may be;

4°. Copies of copies may, according to the circumstances, be considered as mere information.

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923
Article 923 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
For the transcription of an act in public registers to serve as a beginning of proof in writing, it is required: 1°. That it be...
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For the transcription of an act in public registers to serve as a beginning of proof in writing, it is required:

1°. That it be established that all the notary's minutes for the year in which the act was made are lost, or that the specific minute was lost by a particular accident;

2°. That the notary's register duly records that the act was made on the same date.

With the concurrence of these two circumstances, testimonial proof shall be admitted, and if the witnesses to the act still exist, they shall necessarily be heard.

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924
Article 924 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
For a recognitive act to dispense with the production of the original title, its content must be specifically recited therein. What it contains beyond the...
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For a recognitive act to dispense with the production of the original title, its content must be specifically recited therein.

What it contains beyond the title, or what may differ, has no effect. However, the creditor may be dispensed from producing the original title if there are several conforming recognitions, supported by possession, one of which is thirty years old.

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925
Article 925 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
The ratification or confirmation of an obligation that may be attacked by an action in nullity or rescission shall be valid only if it contains...
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The ratification or confirmation of an obligation that may be attacked by an action in nullity or rescission shall be valid only if it contains not only the substance of the obligation but also mention of the ground for the action in rescission and the intention to repair the defect of the act.

Nevertheless, the obligation is valid if, in the absence of ratification or confirmation, it was voluntarily performed after the time at which the obligation could have been confirmed or ratified.

Voluntary performance, confirmation, or ratification, in the forms and at the times determined by law, carries renunciation of the means and defenses to be raised against the act, without prejudice to the rights of third parties.

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926
Article 926 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
An inter vivos donation, null in form, cannot be repaired by a confirmatory act; it must be remade by the donor in legal form.
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An inter vivos donation, null in form, cannot be repaired by a confirmatory act; it must be remade by the donor in legal form.

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927
Article 927 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
If the heirs or assigns of the donor have, after his death, confirmed, ratified, or voluntarily performed the donation, they shall no longer be permitted...
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If the heirs or assigns of the donor have, after his death, confirmed, ratified, or voluntarily performed the donation, they shall no longer be permitted to raise defects of form or other objections.

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928
Article 928 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
Every convention on a thing exceeding twenty-four gourdes in sum or value, including voluntary deposit, must be in writing, either notarial or private; no testimonial...
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Every convention on a thing exceeding twenty-four gourdes in sum or value, including voluntary deposit, must be in writing, either notarial or private; no testimonial proof shall be received against or beyond the contents of acts, nor on what is alleged to have been said before, during, or after the acts, even if the sum is less than twenty-four gourdes, without prejudice to commercial law provisions.

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929
Article 929 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
This rule applies to the case where the action contains, besides the demand for the capital, a demand for interest which, combined with the capital,...
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This rule applies to the case where the action contains, besides the demand for the capital, a demand for interest which, combined with the capital, exceeds the sum of twenty-four gourdes.

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930
Article 930 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
Testimonial proof shall not be admitted if the claim exceeds twenty-four gourdes, even if one offers to reduce it; the same applies if the claim...
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Testimonial proof shall not be admitted if the claim exceeds twenty-four gourdes, even if one offers to reduce it; the same applies if the claim is less, when the sum is the remainder or part of a larger claim not proven in writing.

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931
Article 931 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
If several claims for which there is no written proof are made in the same proceedings by one of the parties, which combined exceed the...
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If several claims for which there is no written proof are made in the same proceedings by one of the parties, which combined exceed the sum of twenty-four gourdes, they may not be proven by witnesses, even if the party alleges that these claims arise from different causes and were formed at different times, unless the rights derived from succession, donation, or otherwise from different persons.

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932
Article 932 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
All claims, of whatever kind, not entirely justified in writing, must be brought in a single action, and those which, without written proof, have not...
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All claims, of whatever kind, not entirely justified in writing, must be brought in a single action, and those which, without written proof, have not been joined, shall not be received.

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933
Article 933 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
There is an exception to the above rules when there is a beginning of proof in writing; this is any written act emanating from the...
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There is an exception to the above rules when there is a beginning of proof in writing; this is any written act emanating from the person against whom the claim is made, or from his predecessor, that makes the alleged fact plausible.

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934
Article 934 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
There is also an exception when it was not possible for the creditor to procure written proof of the obligation contracted toward him. This exception...
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There is also an exception when it was not possible for the creditor to procure written proof of the obligation contracted toward him.

This exception applies: 1° to obligations arising from quasi-contracts and from delicts or quasi-delicts;

2°. To necessary deposits made in case of fire, ruin, riot, or shipwreck, and to those made by travelers when lodging at an inn, all according to the quality of the persons and the circumstances of the matter;

3°. To obligations contracted in case of unforeseen accidents where written acts could not have been made;

4°. To the case where the creditor has lost the title that served as his written proof, as a result of an unforeseen accident and resulting from force majeure.

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935
Article 935 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
Presumptions are conclusions that the law or the judge draws from a known fact to an unknown fact.
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Presumptions are conclusions that the law or the judge draws from a known fact to an unknown fact.

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936
Article 936 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
Legal presumptions established by the laws are all those attached by a special law to certain acts or certain facts; such are: 1°. All acts...
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Legal presumptions established by the laws are all those attached by a special law to certain acts or certain facts; such are:

1°. All acts presumed to be made in fraud of the provisions of the law, which it declares null by their very nature;

2°. Cases where, according to law, ownership or discharge results from certain determined circumstances;

3°. The authority that the law attributes to res judicata;

4°. The force that the law attaches to the party's admission or to his oath.

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937
Article 937 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
The authority of res judicata applying only to what was the subject of the judgment, the thing demanded must be the same, based on the...
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The authority of res judicata applying only to what was the subject of the judgment, the thing demanded must be the same, based on the same cause, between the same parties, and brought by and against them in the same capacity.

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938
Article 938 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
A legal presumption not only relieves from all proof the person in whose favor it exists, but even prevents the admission of contrary proof, unless...
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A legal presumption not only relieves from all proof the person in whose favor it exists, but even prevents the admission of contrary proof, unless the law expressly authorizes it.

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939
Article 939 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
Presumptions not established by law shall be admitted only in cases where the law permits testimonial proof; they are left to the wisdom and prudence...
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Presumptions not established by law shall be admitted only in cases where the law permits testimonial proof; they are left to the wisdom and prudence of the magistrate, who may admit only serious, precise, and concordant presumptions. They may also be admitted if the act is attacked for violence or fraud.

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940
Article 940 Civil Law · De la preuve des Obligations, ou de celle du Payement
Contract Law
An admission invoked against a party is either extrajudicial or judicial.
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An admission invoked against a party is either extrajudicial or judicial.

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