We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Finance

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

What is Codification?

Mary McMahon
By
Updated: May 17, 2024
Views: 17,838
Share

Codification is a process in which laws are organized in a logical way. Governments are continually adding to the law and amending existing laws. This means that viewing laws purely chronologically could quickly become daunting, especially in countries with legal systems which are very old. Codification allows laws to be gathered together in groups which can be bound in a codex or law book, allowing people to look up specific areas of the law much more easily because similar laws are grouped together. The codification process is continuous and can also be accompanied by recodification, which is periodically necessary to clean up existing legal codices.

One way to present laws is in the form of session laws, which are arranged in chronological order. In fact, most governments do maintain session laws because they provide an important record of when legal changes were made and can be valuable historical documents for people interested in studying the history of legislature and the law. However, looking up specific areas of the law in session laws can be a nightmarish task when laws and their amendments may be separated by considerable timespans, and other laws which pertain to them may be scattered elsewhere in the text.

Hence, most governments also codify. When laws are codified, they are grouped together under specific chapters, titles, and so forth within the law so that they can be found, and any amendments and changes to the law are attached directly to it in the codex during the codification process. In recodification, redundant, outdated, and erroneous laws are struck from the books so that the codex contains a clear, cohesive grouping of laws which do not contradict each other.

The process of codification can be time consuming. Usually when new laws are proposed, lawmakers note the area of the code into which they should be inserted so that once they are passed, they can be easily codified. Likewise, new case law also references the areas of the code affected so that it can be codified and cross-referenced. Because law books are continuously updated with changes and new laws, they must also be regularly reprinted so that people have access to the latest legal standards and statutes.

Legal scholars participate in codification, as do people who perform research for legislators to help them determine where new laws need to be inserted. Many governments have established electronic law databases which allow people to access the most recent version of the law, and these databases are an increasingly popular alternative to costly physical codices which need to be routinely replaced.

Share
WiseGeek is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Mary McMahon
By Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a WiseGeek researcher and writer. Mary has a liberal arts degree from Goddard College and spends her free time reading, cooking, and exploring the great outdoors.

Editors' Picks

Discussion Comments
Mary McMahon
Mary McMahon

Ever since she began contributing to the site several years ago, Mary has embraced the exciting challenge of being a...

Learn more
Share
https://www.wisegeek.net/what-is-codification.htm
Copy this link
WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

WiseGeek, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.