1.1 Principles and Sources of English Law

AS Level Law | Cambridge International (9084)

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1.1 Codified Civil Legal System

A codified legal system is one where all the laws of a country are written down in a single, organised document called a code. Think of it like a very detailed rulebook — every law is in one place, clearly laid out, and easy to find.

Key features of a codified system:

• The code covers all the law in a specific area (for example, all tax law is in one code)
• The rules are arranged carefully so there are no contradictions between them
• The code only contains laws passed by a legislature (the body that makes laws, like a parliament) — it does not include judge-made decisions
• Judges must strictly follow the code — they have very little freedom to make their own choices about how to decide a case. This means a judge's decision can often be predicted before a case even begins
• Because the law is so clearly written, both citizens and lawyers can read and understand it easily
• Changing a codified law is quite difficult — it usually requires a very large majority (e.g. 75% agreement) in the legislature. This makes the law more prescriptive (fixed and detailed), leaving less room for interpretation
• Countries with codified systems usually have a written constitution and a constitutional court — its job is to interpret the constitution, not to make new law

Where is it used? Many European countries use codified systems, including France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands. Many countries in Central and South America also use this system because they were once colonies of European nations.

Example in practice: In contract law under a codified system, the code automatically adds certain standard terms into every contract. This means even if the people making the deal forgot to include something, the code fills in the gaps for them.