Social:Six Codes

Short description: Six bodies of law in the legal systems of Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan: Constitution, Civil Code, Civil Procedure, Criminal Code, Criminal Procedure, and Commercial Code

Six Codes

Six Codes (六法), refers to the six main legal codes that make up the main body of law in Japan , South Korea , and the Republic of China. Sometimes, the term is also used to describe the six major areas of law. Furthermore, it may refer to all or part of a collection of statutes.

	Japan	South Korea	Republic of China
1	Constitution (1946) 日本国憲法 Nippon-koku-kenpō	Constitution (1948) 대한민국 헌법 大韓民國憲法 Daehan-minguk Heon-beop	Constitution (1946) 中華民國憲法 Zhōnghuá Mínguó Xiànfǎ (Mandarin) Tiong-hoâ Bîn-kok Hiàn-hoat (Taiwanese) Chûng-fà Mìn-koet Hién-fap (Hakka)
2	Civil Code (1896) 民法 Minpō	Civil Code (1958) 민법 民法 Min-beop	Civil Code (1929) 民法 Mínfǎ (Mandarin) Bîn-hoat (Taiwanese) Mìn-fap (Hakka)
3	Code of Civil Procedure (1996) 民事訴訟法 Minji-soshō-hō	Code of Civil Procedure (1960) 민사소송법 民事訴訟法 Minsa-sosong-beop	Code of Civil Procedure (1930) 民事訴訟法 Mínshìsùsòngfǎ (Mandarin) Bîn-sū Sò͘-siōng-hoat (Taiwanese) Mìn-sṳ Su-siung-fap (Hakka)
4	Criminal Code (1907) 刑法 Keihō	Criminal Code (1953) 형법 刑法 Hyeong-beop	Criminal Code (1935) 刑法 Xíngfǎ (Mandarin) Hêng-hoat (Taiwanese) Hìn-fap (Hakka)
5	Code of Criminal Procedure (1948) 刑事訴訟法 Keiji-soshō-hō	Code of Criminal Procedure (1954) 형사소송법 刑事訴訟法 Hyeongsa-sosong-beop	Code of Criminal Procedure (1928) 刑事訴訟法 Xíngshìsùsòngfǎ (Mandarin) Hêng-sū Sò͘-siōng-hoat (Taiwanese) Hìn-sṳ Su-siung-fap (Hakka)
6	Commercial Code (1899) 商法 Shōhō	Commercial Code (1962) 상법 商法 Sang-beop	Administrative laws 行政法規 Xíngzhèngfǎguī (Mandarin) Hêng-chèng Hoat-kui (Taiwanese) Hàng-chṳn Fap-kûi (Hakka)

The word roppō is a slightly adapted form of the word used in Japanese to describe the Napoleonic Code (ナポレオン五法典 Napoleon go-hōten) when it was brought over during the early Meiji period. Although, French Emperor Napoleon enacted five major codes, which were, in Japanese, altogether metonymically referred to as "the Napoleonic Code" (the official name of the Civil Code, the first and most prominent one), the Japanese added to this their own constitution to form six codes in all, and thus it came to be called the roppō or "six codes."

Legislation in Japan tends to be terse. The statutory volume Roppō Zensho (literally: Book of Six Codes), similar in size to a large dictionary, contains all six codes as well as many other statutes enacted by the Diet.

The Republic of China's legal system is strongly influenced by Japan's. As a result, the terms Six Codes and Book of Six Codes are also widely used in the Republic of China.

See also

Japan Constitution of Japan Law of Japan Supreme Court of Japan Ministry of Justice (Japan)

South Korea Constitution of South Korea Law of South Korea Constitutional Court of Korea Supreme Court of South Korea Ministry of Justice (South Korea)

Republic of China Constitution of the Republic of China Law of Taiwan Judicial Yuan Ministry of Justice (Taiwan)

External links

1. Ministry of Justice, ROC(Taiwan)
2. The Laws and Regulations Database of the ROC(Taiwan)
3. The Complete Six Codes of Japan ＲＯＮの六法全書 onLINE(in Japanese)