1811 (The Inviolability of the Royal Person): The revised constitutional laws reaffirmed the principle that the person of the King was “sacred and inviolable…
HT-HAPA-1816-000146
1811 (The Inviolability of the Royal Person): The revised constitutional laws reaffirmed the principle that the person of the King was “sacred and inviolable.” This legal doctrine placed the monarch above the standard reach of civil and criminal courts, grounding his authority in the “Genius of the supreme Magistrate” and the collective will of the nation. The Council of State argued that this status was necessary to protect the head of state from the “calumnies” and plots of internal enemies. Any attempt against King Christophe’s life or dignity was classified as a high crime against the safety of the state. This legal protection served to solidify the King’s role as the permanent and unquestionable center of Haytian sovereignty.
Source · HT-HAPA-1816-000146 · p. 125, 132
Sanders, Haytian Papers, 125, 132 / Bates: HT-HAPA-1816-000146, 000153