Mechanics of Codification
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relating to governmental constituents, campaign best calculated to avoid omis organization and administration, includ sions, oversights and inconsistencies, and ing public property, revenues, works, to produce a system of codes harmonious education, health and morals. and useful to the limit of the committee's 2. Civil Code : Containing the private laws, capacity. or the laws governing private persons It may not be amiss at this point to with special reference to their inter relations, property, and obligations. distinguish between true codification, 3. Penal Code : Containing the laws relating to which this article relates, and mere to crimes and punishments. compilation. The latter may be de 4. Remedial Code : Containing the laws re scribed as the comparatively hasty and lating to relief, and to procedure in civil unscientific grouping together of exist and criminal cases, including the law of ing laws so that they can be more con evidence. veniently used than when scattered 5. SPECIAL AND LOCAL LAWS (With and through the volumes in which they preliminary to which should be published were from year to year promulgated. a table showing what disposition the The so-called codes of Maryland and committee has made of each section of every act of the Legislature in force Mississippi are compilations and not on the date of completion of the codes). codes. Codification, on the other hand, Containing the laws not included in the is the logical distribution of existing foregoing codes. laws to specific codes, and the concise and systematic expression and arrange True codification can only be car ment in the codes of such laws and the ried to a logical conclusion when an new legislation required to form a clear entire code system is begun and com and harmonious whole, designed to meet pleted at one time, because the codes all present exigencies and to provide so are interdependent and the provisions far as possible for the future. Califor of each must be framed so as to supple nia and Montana are states whose laws ment the provisions of the others in the have been codified. even attainment of the common object In constructing a complete code sys — the clear and orderly expression of tem for a state, the plan at once most the entire body of the law. Moreover, logical and most nearly approximating numerous acts and many sections passed the better modern practice is to embody by the legislative body include provi the general laws in four codes, political, sions which belong in, and should be civil, penal, and remedial, accompanied distributed to, several different codes, by a fifth book to bring all the laws of and such acts and sections can be broken the state into the scheme, each of the up and their various provisions success five books having its own index and also fully placed and preserved each in its a general index to all the books, as proper code only when all of the codes follows: — are in preparation simultaneously. It is also true that the new legislation needed GENERAL LAWS : 1. Political Code (With and preliminary to complete a given code frequently to which should be printed the Organic calls for legislation pertaining to another Laws, being the Constitution of the code, so that the single code would be United States, the Constitution of the in part inoperative unless legislation State, and all Treaties, Acts of Con gress, etc., having special reference to belonging to a different code was adopted the territory out of which the state at the same time. Thus, where a civil was carved). Containing the public laws code alone has been in preparation,
