California Civil Code
The Civil Code of California is a collection of statutes for the State of California. The code is made up of statutes which govern the general obligations and rights of persons within the jurisdiction of California.[1] It was based on a civil code originally prepared by David Dudley Field II for the state of New York (but which was never enacted in that state).
Though the Code is organized in a similar manner to many civil law civil codes, many of its provisions are codifications of well-established common law principles. For example, it contains a definition of consideration,[2] a principle in the common law of contracts which has no direct equivalent in civil law systems.
First adopted in 1872 and signed into law by then Governor Newton Booth, the Civil Code is divided -similarly to its civil law analogues- into four divisions: "the first relating to persons"; "the second to property"; "the third to obligations"; "the fourth contains general provisions relating to the three preceding divisions."[3] Division One contains laws which govern personal rights while Division Two contains laws which govern property rights. Division Three codifies the substantive contract law of the State of California as well as various regulations relating to agency, mortgages, unsecured loans, extensions of credit, and other areas of California law. Division Four defines remedies available in lawsuits, what constitutes a nuisance, various maxims of jurisprudence, and other miscellaneous provisions which relate "to the three preceding divisions."
Over the years, the Civil Code has been repeatedly amended by legislation and initiative measures. A very significant change to the Civil Code occurred in the early 1990s when nearly all of the Civil Code's provisions relating to marriage, community property, and other family law matters were removed from the Civil Code (at the suggestion of the California Law Revision Commission) and re-enacted in the form of a new Family Code. The California Family Code went into effect on January 1, 1994.
Most statutes that deal with civil procedure are codified in a separate code, the California Code of Civil Procedure.
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