Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch

ABGB von 1811 im Heeresgeschichtlichen Museum

The General civil code (german: Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, links=yes or ABGB) is the Civil Code of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, which after about 40 years of preparatory work was published on 1 June 1811 and came into force on 1 January 1812. Karl Anton Freiherr von Martini and Franz von Zeiller were the leading drafters at the earlier and later stages of the draft. Comparable to the Napoleonic code, it was based on the ideals of freedom and equality before the law. It was divided into three major segments, following the

Roman law Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Ju ...

segregation methods. It was modernized during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. ABGB continues to be the basic civil code of

to this day and it is also still the basic civil code of

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...

. Besides Austria, its influence persists in other successor states of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. In the Czech part of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

(the Slovak part used Hungarian customary law) it was in effect until 1951, although it had been novelized multiple times, until it was replaced by the civil code from 1950. In southern Poland it was partially in effect until the end of 1946. In

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

it was partially introduced after 1878, and some parts are still in use, even after this country's independence. 1811 in law Law of Austria Civil codes {{Europe-law-stub