THE EFFECTS OF MARRIAGE ON THE MARRIED WOMAN’S POSSESSIONS AS STIPULATED BY THE 1864 CIVIL CODE

It is well-known that in human history the relations between women and men have not always been under the sign of equality. Thus, during matriarch the mother established the rules within the family, while patriarchy has given man the prerogatives of the majority. The rights that the man has had on the woman and children have evolved throughout history, according to the different stages of social development and implicitly to the rules of those historical periods. This paper analyzes the married woman's incapacity in the regulation of the Romanian Civil Code of 1864 2 , which has as primary source of inspiration the French Civil Code (Napoleon’s Code) 1804. The Constitution of 1948 3 brought important changes in family relationships, through the consecration of new principles, among which that of gender equality. Subsequently, the equality between women and men in all areas of social life has left its mark on the relations between spouses, so that the legislative changes to the Civil Code and afterwards to the Family Code of 1954 balanced the relationship between spouses. The current Romanian Civil Code, which entered into force on October 1, 2011, reaffirms and strengthens the equality between spouses, both in terms of relations between them and of the exercise of parental authority.