Justinian’s Code
In February 528, just a few months after his accession, Justinian established a commission to prepare a comprehensive compilation of imperial enactments that were to bear his name: Justinian’s Code (Codex Iustinianus).
It would be a consolidation and update of existing codes (the Gregorian, the Hermogenian, and the Theodosian Codes) and the imperial constitutions enacted afterward. Members of the commission, headed by the politician John of Cappadocia, included Tribonian, Theophilus (a law professor in Constantinople), and two advocates of the court of Constantinople. The commissioners were explicitly authorized to edit texts: omitting what was obsolete, superficial, or contradictory; restating in clear language what was ambiguous; and changing or adding what was necessary. The commission worked hard and with notable speed to prepare the Code in fourteen months. The Code was enacted by the imperial constitution Summa on April 7, 529 and sent to all provinces. It came into force in the whole empire on April 16, 529.After the promulgation of the Code, Justinian went on to issue so many imperial constitutions (many of them related to particular legal controversies) that the Code became outdated within five years. A revision was necessary. After the whole codification project was completed (533), the Code was revised again under the guidance of Tribonian. In November 534 the new edition of the Code (Codex repetitae praelectionis) came into force through the constitution Cordi. The first edition of the Code (529 ce) did not survive, but the second one (534) did. The only parts of the first edition preserved today are the two constitutions Haec and Summa, which also were published at the beginning of the second edition.
Justinian’s Code consists of twelve books, divided into titles. Within the titles, the imperial constitutions (including the name[s] of the emperor[s], the addressee, and the date) are arranged in chronological order. The latest constitution published therein is of November 4, 534, and the earliest is by Emperor Hadrian (C.J. 6.23.1). The first book deals with ecclesiastical law, the sources of law, and the administration of the empire. Specifically, the Code begins with the imperial constitution of the emperors Gratian, Valenti- nian II, and Theodosius I of 380 that declared Christianity to be the state religion of the empire. Books 2 to 8 address topics of private law; book 9 deals with criminal law; and books 10 to 12 deal with administrative law and tax law. The Justinian Code followed the same pattern of composition as the Theodosian Code. They differ in the material contained, in their arrangement and structure, and in the degree of alterations made to earlier imperial constitutions.
More on the topic Justinian’s Code:
- The Code
- The Second Code
- The Code
- The First Code
- The Theodosian Code
- DELICT AND THE FRENCH CODE
- POTHIER AND THE FRENCH CIVIL CODE
- The Theodosian Code
- ORIGIN AND APPLICATION OF ART. 1384 CODE CIVIL
- The Code, the Courts, and the Law Prior to Codification