[MANUSCRIT]. Projet de code criminel remis au premier consul au mois de floréal an 10. S.l., Year 10 [1802]. - Manuscript in-18, 316 pp. Contemporary marbled paper boards. Period handwritten copy, possibly autograph, of a draft criminal code presented to Napoleon Bonaparte in May 1802. The author of this draft has not been identified. The text appears to be unpublished. It begins with Preliminary Provisions and is followed by 3 books: I: De la police, comprising 169 articles divided into 17 titles: 1. De la police particulière. - 2. police commissioners - 3. country wardens and forest wardens. - 4. justice - 5. investigating judge and government commissioner. - 6. Information and collection. - 7 Interrogations - 8 Police judgements. - 9 Criminal judgements in first instance. - 10. contumax - 11. Special procedure on forgery. - 12. Procedure against certain public officials. - 13. final judgements in police matters. - 14. Final criminal judgments. - 15. Court of Cassation. - 16. The manner of proceeding against judges for offences not related to their functions. - 17. Procedure against the deaf and dumb. II. Criminal penalties, comprising 89 articles. III. Infamous or afflictive penalties, comprising 82 articles. This is followed by some interesting observations giving details about the author and context of this project: "I conceived the project of a criminal code before the government appointed a commission for this purpose. I do not intend to enter into competition with the enlightened men it has chosen as commissioners. But 38 years of continuous study of public law and civil and criminal law, and the experience I have acquired in the criminal and correctional courts, have given me enough confidence to determine me to continue my work. I felt that I owed the government the fruits of my vigilance and observations. [...] I have sought to bring together all the cases that have arisen in the courts, and to develop or modify those that are scattered throughout the various laws concerning the correctional police. I found in the Criminal Code many omissions, imperfections, truncated or poorly developed provisions, provisions in the penalties, and above all a shocking equality in the punishment of capital offences. I have tried to repair all these defects, both with the criminal ordinance, the old laws, and the decisions of the most skilful criminal lawyers, and with the new laws". The first penal code was adopted between 25 September and 6 October 1791. It was replaced by the Imperial Code in 1810. To sum up, this unpublished manuscript, presented to Napoleon in 1802 by an anonymous jurist with thirty-eight years' experience, reveals a bold attempt to reform the 1791 penal code, which was judged to be incomplete and unequal. The author proposed an exhaustive overhaul, structured in 3 books detailing police and judicial procedure, as well as criminal and afflictive penalties, while drawing on ancient legal traditions and the practical needs of the courts. Although this draft was not adopted, it illustrates the effervescence of the legal debates under the Consulate and sheds valuable light on the transition between revolutionary law and the future Imperial Code of 1810. This text, which is both technical and committed, bears witness to the desire of the experts of the time to contribute to the construction of a more coherent and efficient legal system. The binding is worn and the spine is missing. The last leaf is missing, probably with text and identification of the author.