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The manuscript mirrors origins from the Byzantine Empire, written in Latin & Greek.

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Why we chose Justinian's Code (Body of Civil Law):

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Why we chose Justinian's Code (Body of Civil Law):

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Justinian's Code gives insight into how Justinian ran his empire. We wanted to understand more about what the laws were, what they meant, and how the civilization reacted. Digging deeper into Justinian's Code will help us understand the history behind the foundation of modern law, and will allow us to find connections between the two. We find the legal system a complicated network of laws, so understanding where they started from and why they started is important. After diving into Justinian's Code we hope to have a better understanding of laws then, versus now.

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Justinian ruled from 529 to 565 CE, however found it difficult to rule the Bzyntine Empire when the rules were inconsistant. He decided to create a new set of laws to clarify old Romian laws and reinforce the new code. Justinian had four books for his code; Codex Constitutionum, Digesta, Institutiones, and Novellae Constitutiones Post Codicem. When Justinian began on his first book, he actually had 10 of his men search through all known "constitutions" made by past emperors. From there he had them disect the material he opposed or was disappearing, and then repealed any laws that contradicted his. The following books went through similar processes and the last book was published 5 years after the first, but continued to be revised until 565 CE. Justinian's Code also amplified the idea of emperors holding power and deciding where their power went. The Bzyntine Empire was organized, and Justinian set a new goal of reuniting the Roman Empire.

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Justinian's Code wasn't considered a new legal code, however, it shaped Roman law which was used for more than 2,000 years. Roman law then provided a basis for civil law, and the legal code is still used by Europe and parts of Latin America.

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This is a mosaic of Justinian as emperor.

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Code of Justinian, Latin Codex Justinianus, formally Corpus Juris Civilis ("Body of Civil Law"), collections of laws and legal interpretations developed under the sponsorship of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I from 529 to 565 ce. Strictly speaking, the works did not constitute a new legal code. Rather, Justinian's committees of jurists provided basically two reference works containing collections of past laws and extracts of the opinions of the great Roman jurists. Also included were an elementary outline of the law and a collection of Justinian's own new laws.

The Justinian code consists of four books: (1) Codex Constitutionum, (2) Digesta, or Pandectae, (3) Institutiones, and (4) Novellae Constitutiones Post Codicem.

Work on the Codex Constitutionum began soon after Justinian's accession in 527, when he appointed a 10-man commission to go through all the known ordinances, or "constitutions," issued by the emperors, weed out the contradictory and obsolescent material, and adapt all provisions to the circumstances of that time. The resultant 10-book Codex Constitutionum was promulgated in 529, all imperial ordinances not included in it being repealed. In 534 a new commission issued a revised Codex (Codex Repetitae Praelectionis) containing 12 books; the revisions were based partly on Justinian's own new legislation.

The Digesta was drawn up between 530 and 533 by a commission of 16 lawyers, under the presidency of the jurist Tribonian. They collected and examined all the known writings of all the authorized jurists; extracted from them whatever was deemed valuable, generally selecting only one extract on any given legal point; and rephrased the originals whenever necessary for clarity and conciseness. The results were published in 50 books, each book subdivided into titles. All juridical statements not selected for the Digesta were declared invalid and were thenceforth never to be cited at law.

The Institutiones, compiled and published in 533 under Tribonian's supervision and relying on such earlier texts as those of Gaius, was an elementary textbook, or outline, of legal institutions for the use of first-year law students.

The Novellae Constitutiones Post Codicem (or simply, in English, the Novels) comprised several collections of new ordinances issued by Justinian himself between 534 and 565, after publication of the revised Codex.

Latin was the language of all the works except the Novels, which were almost all published in Greek, though official Latin translations existed for the western Roman provinces.

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Code of Justinian | Definition & Creation

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Code of Justinian, collections of laws and legal interpretations developed under the sponsorship of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I in 529-565 CE. Strictly speaking, the works did not constitute a new legal code. Rather, they collected past laws and extracts of the opinions of the great Roman jurists.