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	In [[law]], '''codification''' is the process of collecting and restating the law of a [[jurisdiction]] in certain areas, usually by subject, forming a [[legal code]], i.e. a [[codex]] ([[book]]) of law.		In [[law]], '''codification''' is the process of collecting and restating the law of a [[jurisdiction]] in certain areas, usually by subject, forming a [[legal code]], i.e. a [[codex]] ([[book]]) of law.

	Codification is one of the [[Civil law (legal system)#Codification\|defining features]] of [[civil law (legal system)\|civil law]] jurisdictions.{{Contradict-inline\|article=Civil law (legal system)\|section=Differentiation from other major legal systems}} In [[common law]] systems, such as that of [[English law]], codification is the process of converting and consolidating [[judge-made law]] or uncodified statutes enacted by the [[legislature]] into [[statute law]].<ref>{{cite journal \|first = Gunther A. \| last=Weiss\|year = 2000\|volume = 25 \|issue =2\|url = http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1126&context=yjil \|title = The Enchantment of Codification in the Common-Law World \|journal = Yale Journal of International Law}}</ref><ref> [[Lord Scarman]] on codification [https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.co.uk/&httpsredir=1&article=2330&context=ilj]</ref><ref>~~Sauveplanne article on codification~~ [http://www.dwc.knaw.nl/DL/publications/PU00009908.pdf]</ref>		Codification is one of the [[Civil law (legal system)#Codification\|defining features]] of [[civil law (legal system)\|civil law]] jurisdictions.{{Contradict-inline\|article=Civil law (legal system)\|section=Differentiation from other major legal systems}} In [[common law]] systems, such as that of [[English law]], codification is the process of converting and consolidating [[judge-made law]] or uncodified statutes enacted by the [[legislature]] into [[statute law]].<ref>{{cite journal \|first = Gunther A. \| last=Weiss\|year = 2000\|volume = 25 \|issue =2\|url = http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1126&context=yjil \|title = The Enchantment of Codification in the Common-Law World \|journal = Yale Journal of International Law}}</ref><ref>[[Lord Scarman]] on codification [https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.co.uk/&httpsredir=1&article=2330&context=ilj]</ref><ref>[http://www.dwc.knaw.nl/DL/publications/PU00009908.pdf Sauveplanne article on codification]</ref>

	== History ==		== History ==
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	Most of England's [[criminal law]]s have been codified, partly because this enables precision and certainty in prosecution. However, large areas of the common law, such as the [[law of contract]] and the [[law of tort]] remain remarkably untouched. In the last 80 years there have been statutes that address immediate problems, such as the [[Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act 1943]] (which, ''inter alia'', coped with contracts rendered void by war), and the [[Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999]], which amended the [[Privity of contract\|doctrine of privity]]. However, there has been no progress on the adoption of [[Harvey McGregor]]'s ''Contract Code'' (1993), even though the [[Law Commission]], together with the Scots Law Commission, asked him to produce a proposal for the comprehensive codification and unification of the contract law of England and Scotland. Similarly, codification in the law of tort has been at best piecemeal, a rare example of progress being the [[Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945]].		Most of England's [[criminal law]]s have been codified, partly because this enables precision and certainty in prosecution. However, large areas of the common law, such as the [[law of contract]] and the [[law of tort]] remain remarkably untouched. In the last 80 years there have been statutes that address immediate problems, such as the [[Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act 1943]] (which, ''inter alia'', coped with contracts rendered void by war), and the [[Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999]], which amended the [[Privity of contract\|doctrine of privity]]. However, there has been no progress on the adoption of [[Harvey McGregor]]'s ''Contract Code'' (1993), even though the [[Law Commission]], together with the Scots Law Commission, asked him to produce a proposal for the comprehensive codification and unification of the contract law of England and Scotland. Similarly, codification in the law of tort has been at best piecemeal, a rare example of progress being the [[Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945]].

	[[Consolidation bill~~\|Consolidation bills~~]] are routinely passed to organize the law.		[[Consolidation bill]]s are routinely passed to organize the law.

	===Ireland===		===Ireland===
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	In 1930 the League of Nations held at the Hague a [[League of Nations Codification Conference, 1930\|conference]] for the purpose of codification of rules on general matters, but very little progress was made.		In 1930 the League of Nations held at the Hague a [[League of Nations Codification Conference, 1930\|conference]] for the purpose of codification of rules on general matters, but very little progress was made.

	Following the Second World War, the [[International Law Commission]] was established within the United Nations as a permanent body for the formulation of principles in international law.<ref>{{cite journal \|last1=Meyer \|first1=Timothy \|title=Codifying Custom \|journal=University of Pennsylvania Law Review \|volume=160 \|~~page~~=~~995-1069~~ \|url=https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=penn_law_review}}</ref>		Following the Second World War, the [[International Law Commission]] was established within the United Nations as a permanent body for the formulation of principles in international law.<ref>{{cite journal \|last1=Meyer \|first1=Timothy \|title=Codifying Custom \|journal=University of Pennsylvania Law Review \|volume=160 \|pages=995–1069 \|url=https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=penn_law_review}}</ref>

	==Canon law codification==		==Canon law codification==

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{{short description|Process of collecting and restating certain area of law forming a legal code}}

In [[law]], '''codification''' is the process of collecting and restating the law of a [[jurisdiction]] in certain areas, usually by subject, forming a [[legal code]], i.e. a [[codex]] ([[book]]) of law.

Codification is one of the [[Civil law (legal system)#Codification|defining features]] of [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]] jurisdictions.{{Contradict-inline|article=Civil law (legal system)|section=Differentiation from other major legal systems}} In [[common law]] systems, such as that of [[English law]], codification is the process of converting and consolidating [[judge-made law]] or uncodified statutes enacted by the [[legislature]] into [[statute law]].<ref>{{cite journal |first = Gunther A. | last=Weiss|year = 2000|volume = 25 |issue =2|url = http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1126&context=yjil |title = The Enchantment of Codification in the Common-Law World |journal = Yale Journal of International Law}}</ref><ref> [[Lord Scarman]] on codification [https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.co.uk/&httpsredir=1&article=2330&context=ilj]</ref><ref>Sauveplanne article on codification [http://www.dwc.knaw.nl/DL/publications/PU00009908.pdf]</ref>

== History ==
Ancient [[Sumer]]'s [[Code of Ur-Nammu]] was compiled ''circa'' 2050–1230 BC, and is the earliest known surviving [[civil code]]. Three centuries later, the [[Babylonia]]n king [[Hammurabi]] enacted the [[Code of Hammurabi|set of laws named after him]].

Important codifications were developed in the ancient [[Roman Empire]], with the compilations of the [[Twelve Tables|Lex Duodecim Tabularum]] and much later the [[Corpus Juris Civilis]]. These codified laws were the exceptions rather than the rule, however, as during much of ancient times [[Roman law]]s were left mostly uncodified.

The first ''permanent'' system of codified laws could be found in [[imperial China]]{{NoteTag|See [[Chinese law]].}} , with the compilation of the ''[[Tang Code]]'' in AD 624. This formed the basis of the Chinese [[criminal law|criminal code]], which was eventually replaced by the ''[[Great Qing Legal Code]]'', which was in turn abolished in 1912 following the [[Xinhai Revolution]] and the establishment of the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]]. The new [[law of the Republic of China|laws of the Republic of China]] were inspired by the German codified work, the [[Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch]]. A very influential example in Europe was the French [[Napoleonic code]] of 1804.

Upon confederation, the [[Haudenosaunee]] created constitutional [[wampum]], each component symbolizing one of the many laws within the 117 articles. The union of the five original nations occurred in 1142 C.E.,<ref>{{cite news |last1=McClure |first1=Bruce |title=The Eclipse That Marked The Start Of The Iroquois Confederacy |url=https://earthsky.org/human-world/solar-eclipse-marks-beginning-of-iroquois-confederacy/ |access-date=14 August 2021 |publisher=EarthSky }}</ref> the unification narrative of which serves the basis for the Iroquois laws.<ref>{{cite web |title=Kayanlaˀ Kówa – Great Law of Peace |url=https://oneida-nsn.gov/our-ways/our-story/great-law-of-peace/ |website=Oneida |publisher=Oneida Nation |access-date=14 August 2021}}</ref>

Systems of religious laws include the [[halakha]] of Judaism and the ''sharia'' of Islam. The use of civil codes in ''[[sharia]]'' began with the [[Ottoman Empire]] in the 19th century AD.

{{further|Legal history}}

==Civil law jurisdictions==
{{main|Civil law (legal system)}}
[[civil law (legal system)|Civil law]] jurisdictions rely, [[Civil law (legal system)#Codification|by definition]], on codification. Notable early examples were the [[Statutes of Lithuania]], in the 16th century. The movement towards codification gained momentum during the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], and was implemented in several European countries during the late 18th century (see [[civil code]]). However, it became widespread only after the enactment of the French [[Napoleonic Code]] (1804), which has heavily influenced the legal systems of many other countries.

==Common law jurisdictions==
{{main|Common law}}
[[Common law]] has been codified in many jurisdictions and in many areas of law: examples include [[criminal code]]s in many jurisdictions, and include the [[California Civil Code]] and the ''[[Consolidated Laws of New York]]'' ([[New York State]]).

===England and Wales===
The English judge [[Sir Mackenzie Chalmers]] is renowned as the draftsman of the [[Bills of Exchange Act 1882]], the [[Sale of Goods Act 1893]] and the [[Marine Insurance Act 1906]], all of which codified existing [[common law]] principles. The Sale of Goods Act was repealed and re-enacted by the [[Sale of Goods Act 1979]] in a manner that revealed how sound the 1893 original had been.{{NoteTag|For the most part, the Sale of Goods Act 1979 retains the wording and section numbers of its 1893 predecessor.}} The Marine Insurance Act (mildly amended) has been a notable success, adopted ''verbatim'' in many common law jurisdictions.

Most of England's [[criminal law]]s have been codified, partly because this enables precision and certainty in prosecution. However, large areas of the common law, such as the [[law of contract]] and the [[law of tort]] remain remarkably untouched. In the last 80 years there have been statutes that address immediate problems, such as the [[Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act 1943]] (which, ''inter alia'', coped with contracts rendered void by war), and the [[Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999]], which amended the [[Privity of contract|doctrine of privity]]. However, there has been no progress on the adoption of [[Harvey McGregor]]'s ''Contract Code'' (1993), even though the [[Law Commission]], together with the Scots Law Commission, asked him to produce a proposal for the comprehensive codification and unification of the contract law of England and Scotland. Similarly, codification in the law of tort has been at best piecemeal, a rare example of progress being the [[Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945]].

[[Consolidation bill|Consolidation bills]] are routinely passed to organize the law.

===Ireland===
[[Law of the Republic of Ireland]] evolved from [[English law]], the greatest point of difference being the existence of the [[Constitution of Ireland]] as a single document. The unofficial "popular edition" of the Constitution is regularly updated to take account of [[Amendments to the Constitution of Ireland|amendments to it]], while the official text enrolled in the [[Supreme Court of Ireland|Supreme Court]] in 1938 has been replaced five times: in 1942, 1980, 1989, 1999, and 2019.<ref name="sc2020">{{cite book |author1=Supreme Court of Ireland |title=Annual Report 2019 |location=Dublin |pages=50–52 |url=http://www.supremecourt.ie/supremecourt/sclibrary3.nsf/(WebFiles)/3E96211DAA2B6F1C8025851A0035EF6C/$FILE/SupremeCourt_AnnualReport_2019_Online_LoRes.pdf#page=52 |access-date=13 August 2022 |chapter=Sixth enrolment of the Constitution}}</ref> As in England, subordinate laws are not officially codified, although [[consolidation bill]]s have restated the law in many areas. Since 2006 the [[Law Reform Commission (Ireland)|Law Reform Commission]] (LRC) has published semi-official "revised" editions of [[Acts of the Oireachtas]] taking account of textual and other amendments to the original version.<ref name="lrc-ie">{{cite web |title=Revised Acts |url=https://revisedacts.lawreform.ie/revacts/intro |publisher=Law Reform Commission |location=Dublin |access-date=23 August 2022}}</ref> The [[Finance Act]]s are excluded from the LRC programme.<ref name="lrc-ie"/> Private companies produce unofficial consolidated versions of these and other commercially important pre-2005 laws. An official advisory committee between 2006 and 2010 produced a Draft Criminal Code.<ref>{{multiref|
{{cite book |author1=Criminal Law Codification Advisory Committee |title=Draft Criminal Code and Commentary |url=https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/d4fa7-draft-criminal-code-and-commentary/ |publisher=Stationery Office |location=Dublin |access-date=2 September 2022 |orig-year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4064-2783-7 }}|
{{cite web |title=Latest News |url=http://www.criminalcode.ie/website/CLCAC/clcac.nsf/page/news-en |website=Official website |publisher=Criminal Law Codification Advisory Committee |access-date=2 September 2022 |language=en}}
}}
</ref>

===United States===
{{main|United States Code|Code of Federal Regulations}}
In the United States, [[act of Congress|acts of Congress]], such as federal statutes, are published chronologically in the order in which they become law – often by being signed by the [[President of the United States|President]], on an individual basis in official pamphlets called "[[slip law]]s", and are grouped together in official bound book form, also chronologically, as "[[session law]]s". The "session law" publication for Federal statutes is called the [[United States Statutes at Large]]. A given act may be a single page or hundreds of pages in length. An act may be classified as either a "Public Law" or a "Private Law".

Because each Congressional act may contain laws on a variety of topics, many acts, or portions thereof, are also rearranged and published in a topical, subject matter codification by the [[Office of the Law Revision Counsel]]. The official codification of Federal statutes is called the [[United States Code]]. Generally, only "Public Laws" are codified. The United States Code is divided into "titles" (based on overall topics) numbered 1 through 54.<ref>[https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/1068 Public Law No: 113-287, To enact title 54, United States Code, "National Park Service and Related Programs", as positive law.]</ref> [[Title 18 of the United States Code|Title 18]], for example, contains many of the Federal criminal statutes. Title 26 is the [[Internal Revenue Code]].<ref>[https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode USC table of contents]</ref>

Even in code form, however, many statutes by their nature pertain to more than one topic. For example, the statute making [[Tax avoidance and tax evasion|tax evasion]] a felony pertains to both criminal law and tax law, but is found only in the Internal Revenue Code.<ref>see [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/7201- 26 USC 7201]</ref> Other statutes pertaining to taxation are found not in the Internal Revenue Code but instead, for example, in the Bankruptcy Code in [[Title 11 of the United States Code]], or the Judiciary Code in [[Title 28 of the United States Code|Title 28]]. Another example is the national minimum drinking age, not found in [[Title 27 of the United States Code|Title 27]], ''Intoxicating liquors'', but in [[Title 23 of the United States Code|Title 23]], ''Highways'', [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/23/158.html §158].

Further, portions of some Congressional acts, such as the provisions for the effective dates of amendments to codified laws, are themselves not codified at all. These statutes may be found by referring to the acts as published in "slip law" and "session law" form. However, commercial publications that specialize in legal materials often arrange and print the uncodified statutes with the codes to which they pertain.

In the United States, the individual states, either officially or through private commercial publishers, generally follow the same three-part model for the publication of their own statutes: slip law, session law, and codification.

Rules and regulations that are promulgated by agencies of the [[Federal government of the United States#Executive branch|Executive Branch of the United States Federal Government]] are codified as the [[Code of Federal Regulations]]. These regulations are authorized by specific legislation passed by the legislative branch, and generally have the same force as statutory law.

==International law codification==
{{main|International law}}
Following the First World War and the establishment of the [[League of Nations]], the need for codification of international law arose. In September 1924, the General Assembly of the League established a committee of experts for the purpose of codification of international law, which was defined by the Assembly as consisting of two aspects:
* Putting existing customs into written [[treaty|international agreement]]s
* Developing further rules
In 1930 the League of Nations held at the Hague a [[League of Nations Codification Conference, 1930|conference]] for the purpose of codification of rules on general matters, but very little progress was made.

Following the Second World War, the [[International Law Commission]] was established within the United Nations as a permanent body for the formulation of principles in international law.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Meyer |first1=Timothy |title=Codifying Custom |journal=University of Pennsylvania Law Review |volume=160 |page=995-1069 |url=https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=penn_law_review}}</ref>

==Canon law codification==
{{main|1917 Code of Canon Law|Legal history of the Catholic Church}}
Papal attempts at codification of the scattered mass of canon law spanned the eight centuries since [[Gratian (jurist)|Gratian]] produced his ''[[Decretum Gratiani|Decretum]]'' c. 1150.<ref name=BenedictXV204>Peters, ''Life of Benedict XV'', pg. 204.</ref> In the 13th century especially canon law became the object of scientific study, and different compilations were made by the Roman Pontiffs. The most important of these were the five books of the ''[[Decretales Gregorii IX]]'' and the ''[[Liber Sextus]]'' of [[Pope Boniface VIII|Boniface VIII]]. The legislation grew with time. Some of it became obsolete, and contradictions crept in so that it became difficult in recent times to discover what was of obligation and where to find the law on a particular question.

[[File:Cover of a copy of the 1917 Codex Iuris Canonici (Code of Canon Law).jpg|thumb|right|250px|Hardcover of the ''1917 Code of Canon Law'']]
Since the close of the ‘’Corpus Juris’’ numerous new laws and decrees had been issued by popes, councils, and [[Congregation (Roman Curia)|Roman Congregations]]. No complete collection of them had ever been published and they remained scattered through the ponderous volumes of the ‘’Bullaria’’ the ‘’[[Acta Sanctae Sedis]]’’, and other such compilations, which were accessible to only a few and for professional canonists themselves and formed an unwieldy mass of legal material. Moreover, not a few ordinances, whether included in the ‘’Corpus Juris’’ or of more recent date, appeared to be contradictory; some had been formally abrogated, others had become obsolete by long disuse; others, again, had ceased to be useful or applicable in the present condition of society. Great confusion was thus engendered and correct knowledge of the law rendered very difficult even for those who had to enforce it.<ref name=GeneralLegislation55>Ayrinhac, ‘’General Legislation’’ §55.</ref>

When the Vatican Council met in 1869 a number of bishops of different countries petitioned for a new compilation of church law that would be clear and easily studied. The council never finished its work and no attempt was made to bring the legislation up to date. By the 19th Century, this body of legislation included some 10,000 norms. Many of these were difficult to reconcile with one another due to changes in circumstances and practice. In response to the request of the bishops at the [[First Vatican Council]],<ref>Pietro Cardinal Gasparri, preface to the CIC 1917</ref> on 14 May 1904, with the ''[[motu proprio]]'' ''Arduum sane munus'' ("A Truly Arduous Task"), [[Pope Pius X]] set up a commission to begin reducing these diverse documents into a single code,<ref>Manual of Canon Law, pg. 47</ref> presenting the normative portion in the form of systematic short canons shorn of the preliminary considerations<ref>Manual of Canon Law, pg. 49</ref> ("Whereas...") and omitting those parts that had been superseded by later developments.

By the winter of 1912, the "whole span of the code"<ref name=BenedictXV205>Peters, ''Life of Benedict XV'', pg. 205.</ref> had been completed, so that a provisional text was printed.<ref name=BenedictXV205/> This 1912 text was sent out to all Latin bishops and superiors general for their comment, and their notations which they sent back to the codification commission were subsequently printed and distributed to all members of the commission, in order that the members might carefully consider the suggestions.<ref name=BenedictXV205/> The new code was completed in 1916.<ref>Entry for 'canon law, new code of'. 1910 New Catholic Dictionary. http://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/ncd/view.cgi?n=1909. 1910. Accessed 14 April 2016</ref> Under the aegis of Cardinal [[Pietro Gasparri]], the Commission for the Codification of Canon Law was completed under [[Benedict XV]], Pius X's successor, who promulgated it on 27 May 1917<ref name=Chair256>La Due, William J., J.C.D.: ''The Chair of Saint Peter: A History of the Papacy'' (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1999), pg. 256.</ref> as the Code of Canon Law ({{lang-la|Codex Iuris Canonici}}) and set 19 May 1918<ref name=Chair256/> as the date on which it came into force.<ref>Ap Const. ''Providentissima Mater Ecclesia'' Benedict XV, 27 May 1917</ref> In its preparation centuries of material were examined, scrutinized for authenticity by leading experts, and harmonized as much as possible with opposing canons and even other codes, from the [[Corpus Juris Civilis|Codex of Justinian]] to the [[Napoleonic Code]]. It contained 2,414 canons<ref>[[Dr. Edward N. Peters]], [http://www.canonlaw.info/a_simpleoverview.htm CanonLaw.info "A Simple Overview of Canon Law"], accessed June-11-2013</ref> and was in force until Canon 6 §1 1° of the ''[[1983 Code of Canon Law]]''<ref>1983 Code of Canon Law Annotated, Canon 6 (pg. 34)</ref> took legal effect—thereby [[abrogation (canon law)|abrogating]] it<ref>Dr. Edward Peters, [http://canonlaw.info/masterpage1917.htm CanonLaw.info], accessed June-9-2013</ref>—on 27 November 1983.<ref>NYTimes.com, "[https://www.nytimes.com/1983/11/27/us/new-canon-law-code-in-effect-for-catholics.html New Canon Law Code in Effect for Catholics]", 27-Nov-1983, accessed June-25-2013</ref>

==Recodification==
Recodification refers to a process where existing codified statutes are reformatted and rewritten into a new codified structure. This is often necessary as, over time, the legislative process of amending statutes and the legal process of construing statutes by nature over time results in a code that contains archaic terms, superseded text, and redundant or conflicting statutes. Due to the size of a typical government code, the legislative process of recodification of a code can often take a decade or longer.

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:Codification of law| ]]
[[Category:Law reform]]