What was the purpose of Justinian's Code? And please don't copy and paste from Wikipedia, etc.?

Answer 1

At its simplest, the purpose Justinian had in mind was to organize the laws in the Byzantine Empire. It was a mammoth task, as you might well imagine.

In doing this, the laws were put down in writing, presumably some old laws that had outlived their usefulness were discarded, and laws were enacted that dealt with situations that were contemporary at the time or could be foreseen as necessary for future generations.

Answer 2

Ancient Roman laws were collected into one body called the Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil Law) by the emperor Justinian in the years 529 to 534. The first part of this project to be finished was The Codex Justinianus (Code of Justinian) and it's purpose was to provide a standard legal code based on the emperor's unlimited power as ruler.

Answer 3

The Codex Justinianus (529) compiled all of the extant (in Justinian's time) imperial constitutiones from the time of Hadrian. It used both the Codex Theodosianus and private collections such as the Codex Gregorianus and Codex Hermogenianus.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/535institutes.html
About the Code of Justinian


An article on the Justinian Code by Paul Halsall contains the following:

Under the direction of Tribonian, the Corpus Iurus Civilis [Body of Civil Law] was issued in three parts, in Latin, at the order of the Emperor Justinian.
The Codex Justinianus (529) compiled all of the extant (in Justinian's time) imperial constitutiones from the time of Hadrian. It used both the Codex Theodosianus and private collections such as the Codex Gregorianus and Codex Hermogenianus. The Digest, or Pandects, was issued in 533, and was a greater achievement: it compiled the writings of the great Roman jurists such as Ulpian along with current edicts. It constituted both the current law of the time, and a turning point in Roman Law: from then on the sometimes contradictory case law of the past was subsumed into an ordered legal system. The Institutes was intended as sort of legal textbook for law schools and included extracts from the two major works. Later, Justinian issued a number of other laws, mostly in Greek, which were called Novels." Paul Halsall (fordham.edu) http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/535institutes.html
The Codex Justinianeus Article by George Long, M.A., Fellow of Trinity College (on pp301-302 of William Smith, D.C.L., LL.D.: A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, John Murray, London, 1875) adds the following points:


”Fourteen months after the date of the commission, the code was completed and declared to be law (16th April, 529) under the title of the Justinianeus Codex; and it was declared that the sources from which this code was derived were no longer to have any binding force, and that the new code alone should be referred to as of legal authority (Constit. de Justin. Cod. Confirmando). ......http://www.angelfire.com/ms/seanie/adventism/1260justinian.html
In February 528, The Emperor, Justinian appointed a commission, consisting of ten persons, to make a new collection of imperial constitutions.

The result was to gather together Roman law into one code, known as the Justinian Code.

The Justinian Code was divided into four parts:

The Institutes served as a textbook in law for students and lawyers.
The Digest was a casebook covering many trials and decisions.
The Codex was a collection of statutes and principles, and
The Novels contained new proposed laws.
This legal code became the foundation of law in most western European countries. It was a compilation of early Roman laws and legal principles, illustrated by cases, and combined with an explanation of new laws and future legislation to be put into effect.
http://www.canadianlawsite.ca/JustinianCode.htm

So I copied and pasted and now you can continue.:)

Answer 4

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What was the purpose of Justinian's Code? And please don't copy and paste from Wikipedia, etc.?