The Constitution of 1866

The Penal Code was promulgated and published on 30 October 1864 but it entered into force on 1 May 1865; the highest punishment mentioned was hard labour for life (art. 7) and an emotional discourse was given by the official rapporteur on 11 March 1864. The Constitution in 1 July 1866 explicitly provided that capital punishment could not be reinstated (art. 18).

"Art. 18 of the 1866 Constitution: Capital Punishment cannot be reinstated except for the cases stipulated in the Military Code during wartime."