Pauline Laws

The Pauline Laws are the house laws of the Romanov rulers of the Russian Empire. The name comes from the fact that they were initially established by Emperor Paul I of Russia in 1797. Previously drafted privately as a contract between Paul Petrovich while being the heir apparent, and his wife Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg), it was made public and signed into law after Paul succeeded his mother Catherine II in November 1796 and was crowned Emperor.