Six Codes (; Kana: ろっぽう; Hangul: 육법) refers to the six main legal codes that make up the main body of law in Japan, Korea, and Republic of China (Taiwan).Ministry of Justice, R.O.C. (Taiwan) 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.
1Constitution (1946)Nippon-koku-kenpōConstitution (1948)Daehan-minguk Heon-beopConstitution (1946)Zhōnghuá Mínguó Xiànfǎ (Mandarin Pinyin)Chunghua Minkuo Hsienfa (Wade-Giles)Tiong-hoâ Bîn-kok Hiàn-hoat (Hokkien)Chûng-fà Mìn-koet Hién-fap (Hakka)2Civil Code (1896)MinpōCivil Code (1958)Min-beop (1929)Mínfǎ (Mandarin Pinyin)Minfa (Wade-Giles)Bîn-hoat (Hokkien)Mìn-fap (Hakka)3Code of Civil Procedure (1996)Minji-soshō-hōCode of Civil Procedure (1960)Minsa-sosong-beop (1930)Mínshìsùsòngfǎ (Mandarin Pinyin)Minshihsusungfa (Wade-Giles)Bîn-sū Sò͘-siōng-hoat (Hokkien)Mìn-sṳ Su-siung-fap (Hakka)4Penal Code (1907)KeihōCriminal Code (1953)Hyeong-beopCriminal Code (1935)Xíngfǎ (Mandarin Pinyin)Hsingfa (Wade-Giles)Hêng-hoat (Hokkien)Hìn-fap (Hakka)5Code of Criminal Procedure (1948)Keiji-soshō-hōCode of Criminal Procedure (1954)Hyeongsa-sosong-beop (1928)Xíngshìsùsòngfǎ (Mandarin Pinyin)Hsingshihsusungfa (Wade-Giles)Hêng-sū Sò͘-siōng-hoat (Hokkien)Hìn-sṳ Su-siung-fap (Hakka)6Commercial Code (1899)ShōhōCommercial Code (1962)Sang-beopAdministrative laws (1933)Xíngzhèngfǎguī (Mandarin Pinyin)Hsingchêngfakuei (Wade-Giles)Hêng-chèng Hoat-kui (Hokkien)Hàng-chṳn Fap-kûi (Hakka)
The word roppō is a slightly adapted form of the word used in Japanese to describe the Napoleonic Les cinq codes (ナポレオン五法典 Napoleon go-hōten) when it was brought over during the early Meiji period.Masaji Chiba "Japan" edited by Poh-Ling Tan, "Asian Legal Systems" Butterworths, London, 1997. 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 Six Codes were introduced to China in 1905 after the reform and modernization of the Chinese legal system led by Cixi. Such reform was based on the similar laws adopted in Germany, France, and Japan. After the establishment of Nationalist Government, the Complete Book of Six Codes was passed on October 3 1928. The Chinese Communist Party abolished the practices of Six Codes on the land of Communist control in February 1949.
As a result of Japanese colonial rule and the Retreat of the Republic of China to Taiwan, the legal system in Taiwan is strongly influenced by Japan and China.Tay-sheng Wang, Legal Reform in Taiwan under Japanese Colonial Rule, 1895-1945: The Reception of Western Law (2014).Chang-Fa Lo, The Legal Culture and System of Taiwan (2006)..王泰升, 概述台灣法的歷史,思想與法學 [An Overview of Taiwan's Legal History, Thought, and Study], 290 台灣法學雜誌 13 (2016). As a result, the terms Six Codes and Book of Six Codes are also widely used in Taiwan.
See also Les cinq codes Japan Constitution of Japan Law of Japan Supreme Court of Japan Ministry of Justice (Japan)Republic of Korea Constitution of South Korea Law of South Korea Constitutional Court of Korea Supreme Court of Korea Ministry of Justice (South Korea)Republic of China Constitution of the Republic of China Law of Taiwan Judicial Yuan Ministry of Justice (Taiwan)
References
External links Ministry of Justice, ROC (Taiwan) The Laws and Regulations Database of the ROC (Taiwan) The Complete Six Codes of Japan RONの六法全書 onLINE