The marriage legislation in the French and Dutch Civil Code

This paper focuses on the historical backgrounds of the marital power in the marriage legislation in the French Civil Code via the works of Robert Joseph Pothier. The legal status of the husband and wife and their mutual relationship as regulated by the first Dutch Civil Code of 1838, which was inspired by the French Civil Code, is also discussed. In the final part of this paper the latest reforms of the marriage legislation are analysed.