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How did Roman law categories influence the Napoleonic Code's rules on obligations?

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Mosaic portrait of Emperor Justinian I with a jeweled crown and halo, from the 6th-century Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy. — Civil law Justinian I, detail of a 6th-century mosaic at the Church of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy.

The Napoleonic Code incorporated traditional Roman law categories to structure its regulations regarding obligations. Specifically, the code organizes these obligations into the classical Roman-law classifications of contract, quasi-contract, delict, and quasi-delict.1

While the French Civil Code utilized these ancient Roman categories, it adapted them to reflect the needs of its own time, moving away from the rigid requirements of classical Roman law. For instance, while Roman law—as crystallized in Justinian’s law books—often required more than an informal agreement for a contract to be enforceable, the Napoleonic Code embraced the principle that contracts rest ultimately on agreement. This shift was influenced by canon law and natural-law philosophers who championed the enforceability of informal promises (pacta sunt servanda). Consequently, the code established a system where obligations freely assumed are generally enforceable, marking a departure from earlier, more restrictive legal traditions.23