Code (law)

I

Introduction

Code (law), in jurisprudence, a systematic compilation of law in written form, issued by rulers in former times, and promulgated by legislative authority after the rise of representative governments. Early legal codes were little more than statements of the bodies of customs that had obtained the force of law in civilized communities. The earliest legal code known in its entirety is the Babylonian cuneiform Code of Hammurabi of the 18th century bc, discovered in 1901. Four fragments of an earlier Babylonian cuneiform code, known as the Code of Lipit-Ishtar, were discovered about 1900 and deciphered in 1948.

II

Ancient Codes

Some historians include among early codes the Book of the Covenant and the Book of the Law of the Old Testament. The ancient Greek city-states began codifying laws in the 7th century bc. The Laws of Gortyn, named after the ancient town of Gortyna, Crete (Kríti), are regarded as the closest to a systematic statement of ancient Hellenic law. The Twelve Tables of ancient Roman law are often cited as a classic example of an early code. Other compilations of law include the Hindu Code of Manu, believed to date from about ad400, and the code of the Chinese Tang (T’ang) dynasty, issued in ad630.

Of all the codes of antiquity, that of the Roman emperor Justinian I, entitled the Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil Law) and known as the Codex Justinianus, Justinian Code, or simply The Code, most closely resembles the codes of later times. It was in part a compilation and consolidation of statute law, but it lacked the systematic arrangement and the concentration on a single branch of the law, such as criminal or civil law, that are essential features of later codes.

III

Development of Modern Codes

The influence of the Justinian Code was great. Long after Rome fell, Roman law, as codified by Justinian, continued to serve as a source of law in Europe in the form of civil law. Through a 13th-century Spanish code called Siete Partidas (Seven Parts) that was based partly on the Justinian Code, the Justinian Code was later extended to the New World and, with the Siete Partidas, became the basis for the legal systems of most of Latin America.

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A modern code is designed to provide a comprehensive statement of the laws in force in a single branch of the law in a logical and convenient arrangement and in precise and unambiguous phraseology. Modern codes include codes of civil, criminal, and public law and codes of civil and criminal procedures.

Statesmen of modern times have regarded legal codes as necessary instruments of national unity and central authority. Napoleon planned the Code Civil des Français, later renamed the Code Napoléon, as a means of consolidating his realm. The Code Napoléon, one of the most important modern codes, is the basis of the legal systems of Belgium, the Netherlands, Romania, Italy, Portugal, Santo Domingo, Haiti, the state of Louisiana in the United States, and the province of Québec in Canada. It also influenced the legal systems of a number of Latin American countries.

Other important modern codes include the Danske Lov, proclaimed in 1683 by King Christian V of Denmark and Norway; Code Frédéric, or Gesetzbuch (Law Book), proclaimed by the Prussian king Frederick II in 1751 and renamed Landrecht in 1794; and the Gesetzbuch of Germany, issued in 1900, which influenced the later codes of Switzerland, Turkey, and China. Although not a product of secular authority, the Codex Juris Canonici (Code of Canon Law) of the Roman Catholic church, which went into effect in 1918, is regarded as an important modern code; it marked the culmination of almost 1900 years of development in the field of canon law.

IV

British Codes

In the United Kingdom, the legal system is based on common law, and codification has been largely a problem of consolidating common and statute law. A pioneer in this work was the British philosopher Jeremy Bentham, who died while working on a codification of constitutional law. His work influenced the later codes adopted by the British government for India; and these in turn influenced codification in England, as was evidenced by the revision of statutes and legal procedure from 1870 to 1885. The Bills of Exchange Act (1882), the Partnership Act (1890), the Sale of Goods Act (1893), and the Marine Insurance Act (1906) are regarded as true codes, because they consolidated common and statute laws in a comprehensive fashion.

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