Laws and Acts under the Reign of Jean-Jacques Dessalines
- Collects 41 texts: 21 from 1804, 15 from 1805 and 5 from 1806.
- Opens with the Act of Independence signed at Gonaïves on January 1, 1804, and the act naming Dessalines governor general for life.
- Includes the Imperial Constitution of 1805 and the Military Penal Code of May 26, 1805.
- 1805 laws cover divorce, children born outside marriage, civil status records and the organization of the courts.
- 1806 decrees regulate exports of coffee, sugar and cotton, coastal trade, guildives and customs duties.
- Published by the Presses Nationales d'Haïti in October 2006 for the bicentenary of Dessalines' death.
The Presses Nationales d'Haïti published this 165-page volume in its Collection Angle Droit in October 2006 to mark the bicentenary of the death of Emperor Jacques I. It reproduces the texts in date order, with footnotes that link articles to later laws and constitutions. The 1804 section has 21 items, among them the Act of Independence signed at Gonaïves, Dessalines' proclamation to the people, the act naming him governor general for life, the act naming him emperor, the decree on those who took part in the massacres ordered by Leclerc and Rochambeau, a ferry toll tariff and ordinances on the census and the leasing of state land. The 1805 section has 15 items, including the Imperial Constitution, the military penal code, laws on divorce, children born outside marriage, civil status and the courts, and decrees opening ports to foreign trade. The 1806 section has 5 decrees on exports, coastal trade, guildives, wills and customs duties.
How to cite
Government of Haiti, 1806, Laws and Acts under the Reign of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, accessed via HaitiDocs, https://www.haitidocs.org/doc/ht-lois-actes-dessalines-1804-1806