Notary public

The statute book of Napoleon created clear, comprehensible and modern law on the left bank of the Rhine. Between 1806 and 1810 civil and criminal laws, as well as commercial law, were standardised in the Rhineland. The new laws were dear and precious to the Rhinelanders.

Therefore it was no wonder that they wanted to retain their laws after the withdrawal of the French. They defended what had become "Rhenish law" against the Prussians and upheld it for a long time. It was not until the end of the 19th century that it was superseded. The "Rhenish notary's office" has remained until today as a regional characteristic.

In the Rhineland the new legislation was also judged poetically. While some denounced the new system as shackles of French tyranny, Heinrich Heine enthused about it:

"Let the beloved Rhineland wear these shackles for a long time and let them be burdened by more such fetters. May that true love of freedom on the Rhine flourish for many years, neither based on hate of the French nor national selfishness."
(Zitat aus einem Brief Heinrich Heines, in: Söhn, Stefan, Die illiberalste Wissenschaft – Heinrich Heine und die Juristerei, NJW 1998, S.1361f.)

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