El antiguo Código Civil brasileño de 1916, así como el nuevo de 2002, comenzaba con una «Parte general» en el espíritu del llamado «sistema de las Pandectas (Pandektensystem)». La doctrina alemana solía explicar esta característica por medio de la influencia del Código Civil alemán (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch o BGB) de 1896, sin entrar en mayores detalles. En Brasil, a su vez, es muy difundida otra visión, según la cual la idea de una «Parte general» fue introducida en el derecho brasileño mucho antes de la promulgación del BGB. Sin embargo, un análisis más profundo de la cuestión muestra que ambos puntos de vista son imprecisos. Mientras que es cierto que en el derecho brasileño la «Parte general» ya existía a la mitad del siglo XIX, no era una creación original, sino que tuvo su origen en la recepción de la doctrina pandectística alemana. Al mismo tiempo, v...

The old Brazilian Civil Code from 1916, as well as the new one from 2002, began with a «General Part» in the spirit of the Pandektensystem. German legal doctrine, without further analysis, has often ascribed this characteristic to the influence of the German Civil Code (BGB). In Brazilian legal scholarship, on the other hand, the common view is quite different and holds that the idea of a «General Part» already existed in Brazil long before the BGB. However, a closer look reveals that both points of view are imprecise. While it is true that the «General Part» can be found in Brazilian private law already in the middle of the 19th century, it was no original creation, but based on the reception of German pandectist literature. At the same time, it needs to be emphasized that already in the Brazilian codification drafts from the 19th century, the «General Part» received,...

The old Brazilian Civil Code from 1916, as well as the new one from 2002, began with a «General Part» in the spirit of the Pandektensystem. German legal doctrine, without further analysis, has often ascribed this characteristic to the influence of the German Civil Code (BGB). In Brazilian legal scholarship, on the other hand, the common view is quite different and holds that the idea of a «General Part» already existed in Brazil long before the BGB. However, a closer look reveals that both points of view are imprecise. While it is true that the «General Part» can be found in Brazilian private law already in the middle of the 19th century, it was no original creation, but based on the reception of German pandectist literature. At the same time, it needs to be emphasized that already in the Brazilian codification drafts from the 19th century, the «General Part» received,...