The Second Code

As noted previously, the Code of 529 soon became antiquated mainly due to the fresh legislation issued by Justinian subsequent to its enactment.

Thus, at the beginning of 534 the preparation of a new edition was assigned to Tribonian, Dorotheus and three of the advocates who had participated in the compilation of the Digest. The commissioners were instructed to adapt the Code by inserting the new constitutions, including the ‘Fifty Decisions’ (quinquaginta decisiones) mentioned earlier. In this task, they eliminated obsolete or superfluous provisions, removed contradictions and repetitions, and filled in the gaps in the texts. It would appear that the commissioners worked with great speed as on 16th November 534 the Constitutio Cordi confirmed the refashioned Code under the name Codex repetitae praelectionis and it came into force on 29th December 534. It was declared the sole authority with respect to all imperial legislation that had been issued up to the date of its publication.^{^[621]}

The Code is divided into 12 books, each consisting of several titles dealing with specific legal topics. The titles present the relevant constitutions in chronological order; the headings of the constitutions list the names of the emperors who issued them and the persons to whom they were addressed; the constitutions are subdivided into paragraphs with the first labelled as the principium. The first book addresses jurisdictional and ecclesiastical matters; books two to eight elaborate private law; book nine pertains to criminal law; and books 10-12 deal with administrative law issues. The oldest of the approximately 4,500 enactments contained in the Code dates from the era of Hadrian (early second century ad), while the majority (approximately 1,200 constitutions) originate from the reign of Diocletian (late third/early fourth century ad). The Code incorporates around 400 enactments produced by Justinian.^{^[622]}

Shortly after the Code came into force, several manuscript copies were produced that, despite Justinian’s prohibition, embodied commentaries and abbreviations of contemporary jurists.

The Codex Veronensis is the oldest manuscript copy that has been preserved and it probably derives from the sixth or seventh century ad. It is only fragmentary and has been supplemented by reference to other manuscripts. It appears that a complete manuscript copy was never used in the early Middle Ages. In certain manuscripts the Greek constitutions have been removed, while in others the last three of the Code’s 12 books have been omitted. From the ninth century ad, the text of the Code was supplemented by reference to complete manuscripts that were apparently still extant. However, the last three books were not restored to their original position until the eleventh century when together with Justinian’s Institutes and the Authenticum (one version of Justinian’s Novels) they were incorporated into a volume designated the Volumen Parvum. In the sixteenth century, the influence of the humanist movement prompted Cujas and Agustin to restore the Greek constitutions. Dionysius Gothofredus published the complete Code in his Corpus Iuris Civilis in 1583.^{^[623]}

5.4.6

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Source: Mousourakis G.. Roman Law and the Origins of the Civil Law Tradition. Springer,2015. — 339 p.. 2015

The Second Code

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