What reasons does Justinian give for preparing the codes of law?

Answer 1

Justinian's reason for codification of the laws was to unite the great empire he was reconquering. He believed that an empire needed laws and military.

Answer 2

Justinian's reason for codification of the laws was to unite the great empire he was reconquering. He believed that an empire needed laws and military.

Answer 3

Justinian I commissioned the Corpus Juris Civilis, also known as the Justinian Code. There were four parts to this work:

1) a compendium of edited extracts from 400 years of imperial enactments.

2) a digest of essays on law written by jurists (legal experts, mostly from the 2nd and 3rd centuries

3) a student textbook

4) a record of the laws passed by Justinian since the publication of the Corpus.

We do not know exactly what reason Justinian gave publicly for commissioning this work. However, it is clear that it was a codification of centuries of law (this means collecting laws into a single book, codex was the Latin word for book). It brought together, systematised and rationalised the law, which over the centuries had become chaotic. It also dropped enactments which were redundant and clarified obscure passages. This made administering the law much easier and brought the law up to date. It also made it easier to study law.

Justinian was an autocrat who liked to control all aspects of administration himself and liked efficiency. Presumably, he wanted and efficient and effective legal system able to deal with all cases in a systematic manner.

Answer 4

Justinian's reason for codification of the laws was to unite the great empire he was reconquering. He believed that an empire needed laws and military.