Civil statue

The civil statue is a mode of observation of the principal facts relating to the state of the people.

It is also the Public service charged to draw up the acts noting these facts, in particular the death and marriage, birth certificates.

Certain countries whose France since 1539 (ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts) have a civil statue for a long time, for others, this one are developed little. The competent authorities differ much from one country to another. Thus, the countries influenced on this point for the French example entrust the management of the registers of civil statue to the communes. To the the United States, where one speaks about “vital statistics” (statistical of the civil statue), the death and birth registration was often entrusted to the health authorities which recorded also the marriages. As regards civil statue the American States are characterized by their difference. For example, Louisiana is always governed by the Napoleon code and is subdivided in Parishes, etc With the Denmark, the clergy Lutheran is in charge of the behavior of the registers of civil statue with all, Lutherans or not. For a long time, it was the same in Sweden, but this task now was taken again by the tax authorities (for reason practices, this administration for a long time having a file containing of the essential data for all the inhabitants).

History

ancient Rome

Under the Republic, the taxable quota is the enumeration which remains the base of the registry office and which makes time in the event of legal problems. However the inscription was done on simple declaration, without any supporting document. Only the improbability of the declaration could call it into question. The regular declarations of the births and the deaths in Rome went up according to the tradition with the dynasty of the Etruscan kings under Servius Tullius. It seems that this official service of the births, whose center was the Temple of Junon Lucina, was maintained under the Republic. The existence of an official statistic of the births in the town of Rome is attested since first century BC. It has its place in the Official journal public of Rome, the Acta Urbis . Those give the total of the births per day and sex.

It is Auguste, in 8 av. J. - C., which recover the data of the quinquennial taxable quota, and the regular declaration of the births and the deaths to form a civil statue. The social laws of Auguste ensure of the advantages the fathers many; it is thus necessary to prove the existence of a regular marriage. It occurs in addition new stampings: the classes mingle with Rome and it is important to specify the statute of the people, and to draw up, for all the Empire, a fixed documentation making it possible to establish with certainty and without possible dispute the origin and the age of the interested parties. Tibère in 14 a. J. - C., Claude in 47, Vespasien in 73 renews it. Domitien and its successors after him, takes the title of perpetual critic and maintains permanent the institutions charged to collect these data. The censorial functions which had not been the subject of a special organization were allotted to an imperial office, officium censuale . A measure of general order is taken by Marc-Aurèle, applicable, with various methods, in Rome and the provinces.

In France

Founded by François Ier in 1539 (Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts), the acts of civil statue were written and preserved by the religious authorities, mainly the Catholic church, in the form of registers of the baptisms, the marriages and the burials.

Under the Old Mode

As from the 16th century the Baptism S, Marriage S and Décès are registered on the parochial registers of the Catholic church.

Far from the religious fact a civil reality of the acquisition of the goods in the families settles. Against the beginning of this recording, one runs up against the problems of the Protestants whose belief is not recognized by French monarchy. The marriages devoted secretly by pastors do not have any value in comparison with the law and the newborns of these unions are regarded as illegitimate children and cannot in no case to succeed their parents. They are then the other family members who profit from the heritage from the goods and titles, as well on the paternal side as maternal.

The conversions forced with Catholicism désunient the families and cause arguments between catholic members and Protestant members.

The purpose of a campaign is launched in France towards 1750, it is to make recognize the civil reality of the Huguenot S. Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, at that time young student, he is one of the organizers.

In the following years this request will be included by Chrétien Guillaume de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, Claude Carloman de Rulhière, Jean-Paul Rabaut of Saint-Etienne and will obtain Louis XVI of France, the November 19th 1787, the edict on the civil statue of the not-catholics, “edict of tolerance”, because this edict whose use of the name is unsuitable recognizes neither the freedom of conscience, nor that of the worship.

The priests are requested to record on their books the births, marriages and death of people of the Protestant, Jewish and atheistic confessions. The Parliament balks to record the royal edict and the assembly of the clergy reprimand in a solemn way the king, requests it to cancel her edict.

Under the Revolution

The constituent Assembly is unaware of the question. The ditch which grew hollow between the constitutional clergy and the refractory clergy forces the legislative Assemblée to act. To prohibit the behavior of the registers to the chances of the religious fights of the representatives of religion, the legislative Parliament by a decree orders that the behavior of the registers of births, marriages and death will henceforth be put under the responsibility of the municipal officers.

In 1792, following the French revolution, they are the civil authorities, in the person of the mayor of the commune, of one of its assistants or an communal agent having a delegation, who have the responsibility of write and preserve the acts of civil statue. After a certain deadline (150 years in theory), in the rural communes of less 2 000 inhabitants, the law makes in theory obligation with the communes to entrust the registers of civil statue to the departmental records, better capable to ensure the good conservation of it.

With regard to the marriage, its substance is changed by the total separation of the sacrament and the civil contract like by the introduction of the divorce the August 30th 1792. The Convention on the report/ratio of Jean-Jacques-Governed of Cambacérès, proclaims by the law of the 12 brumaire An II (November 2nd 1793) the legal existence of the newborns in an illegitimate way, who are henceforth qualified the “natural ones”, which makes it possible these children to be able to obtain for half the share of the legitimate children at the time them successions and to support “the institution of the marriage”. All these measurements will be registered in the Civil code French of 1804.

Other countries of Europe

Germany: civil statue created in 1875; before variable situation according to the principalities.
England: civil statue created in 1837.
Belgium: civil statue created in 1796.
Spain: civil statue created in 1870; before parochial registers managed by the Clergy.
Italy: civil statue created in 1866; before registers managed by the Clergy.
Swiss: the behavior of the registers of civil statue was one of the last prerogatives of the religious authorities since XVIe century. But it only in 1874, at the time of an important constitutional revision which the civil authorities were charged, and is not obliged, to hold a register of civil statue.

In Substantive law

In France

An interest of law and order sticks so that any person living usually in France, even if it were born abroad and has a foreign nationality, that is to say equipped with a civil statue. The French court of the residence of this person is then qualified to declare its birth.

See too

; External bonds

the Director of the civil statue of Quebec
under ancient Rome

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