What is Codification (law)?
In [[law]], '''codification''' is the [[wikt:process|process]] of [[wikt:collect|collect]]ing and [[wikt:stating|restating]] the law of a [[jurisdiction]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thelawdictionary.org/codification/ |title=What is CODIFICATION? |publisher=Black's Law Dictionary Free 2nd Ed.|access-date=20 November 2015}}</ref> They are [[list]]ed, usually by [[wikt:subject|subject]], forming a [[legal code]] (a [[codex]] or [[book]] of law). Codification is the [[Civil law (legal system)#Codification|defining feature]] of [[civil law (legal system)|civil law]] jurisdictions. ==History== Ancient [[Sumer]]'s [[Code of Ur-Nammu]] was [[wikt:compile|compile]]d {{circa}} 2100-2050 BC. It 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]]. Religious laws such as the [[Torah]] were codified. Important codifications were developed in the ancient [[Roman Empire]], with the compilations of the [[Twelve Tables|Lex Duodecim Tabularum]]. Much later the [[Corpus Iuris Civilis]] was assembled. These codified laws were the [[wikt:exception|exception]]s rather than the rule. During much of [[ancient history]] the [[Roman law]]s were left mostly uncodified. The first ''permanent'' system of codified laws could be found in [[China]]. This was with the compilation of the ''[[Tang Code]]'' in AD 624. This formed the basis of the Chinese [[criminal law|criminal code]]. This was then replaced by the ''[[Great Qing Legal Code]]''. This code was in turn abolished in 1912 following the [[Xinhai Revolution]] and the establishment of the [[Republic of China]]. The new laws of the Republic of China were inspired by the [[Germany|German]] codified work, the ''[[Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch]]''.<ref>[[Chinese law]]</ref> A very influential example in [[Europe]] was the [[France|French]] [[Napoleonic code]] of 1804. Another early system of laws is [[Hindu law]] framed by Manu and called as [[Manu Smriti]]. They date back to