Code of law

Tablets discovered in the ancient city of Ebla (Tell Mardikh in modern-day Syria) provide the earliest known evidence of a law code, dating back to 2400 BC.

This, and subsequent imperial codes, formed the basis for the penal system of both China and other East Asian states under its cultural influence.

In Europe, Roman law, especially the Corpus Juris Civilis, became the basis of the legal systems of many countries.

Meanwhile, African civilizations developed their own legal traditions, sometimes codifying them through consistent oral tradition, as illustrated e.g. by the Kouroukan Fouga, a charter proclaimed by the Mali Empire in 1222–1236, enumerating regulations in both constitutional and civil matters, and transmitted to this day by griots under oath.

[10] The Continental civil law tradition spread around the world along with European cultural and military dominance in recent centuries.

For example, a criminal code is found in a number of common law jurisdictions in Australia and the Americas, and continues to be debated in England.

[citation needed] The result of such codification, however, is not always a legal code as found in civil law jurisdictions.

van Gulik, R.H. Crime and Punishment in Ancient China: The Tang Yin Pi Shih.