Six Codes

{{Short description|Term used for legal codes in East Asia}}

{{Chinese

|c = 六法

|bpmf = ㄌㄧㄡˋ ㄈㄚˇ

|w = liu⁴-fa³

|p = Liù Fǎ

|tp = liòufǎ

|mps = liòufǎ

|gr = liowfaa

|poj = Lio̍k-hoat, La̍k-hoat

|tl = Lio̍k-huat, La̍k-huat

|phfs = Liuk-fap

|kanji = 六法

|kana = ろっぽう

|romaji = roppō

|hangul = 육법

|hanja = 六法

|mr = ryukpŏp

|rr = yukbeop

}}

Six Codes ({{zh|c=六法|p=Liù Fǎ}}; 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).[http://www.moj.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=25471&CtNode=13792&mp=202 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.

class=wikitable ! !!width=280|{{JPN}}!!width=280|{{ROK}}!!width=280|{{ROC}}
1 |valign=top|Constitution (1946) {{lang|ja|日本国憲法}} Nippon-koku-kenpō |valign=top|Constitution (1948) {{lang|ko|대한민국 헌법}} {{lang|ko|大韓民國憲法}} Daehan-minguk Heon-beop |valign=top|Constitution (1946) {{lang|zh-tw|中華民國憲法}} Zhōnghuá Mínguó Xiànfǎ (Mandarin Pinyin) Chunghua Minkuo Hsienfa (Wade-Giles) Tiong-hoâ Bîn-kok Hiàn-hoat (Hokkien) Chûng-fà Mìn-koet Hién-fap (Hakka)
2 |valign=top|Civil Code (1896) {{lang|ja|民法}} Minpō |valign=top|Civil Code (1958) {{lang|ko|민법}} {{lang|ko|民法}} Min-beop |valign=top|{{ill|lt=Civil Code|Civil Code of the Republic of China|zh|中華民國民法}} (1929) {{lang|zh-tw|民法}} Mínfǎ (Mandarin Pinyin) Minfa (Wade-Giles) Bîn-hoat (Hokkien) Mìn-fap (Hakka)
3 |valign=top|Code of Civil Procedure (1996) {{lang|ja|民事訴訟法}} Minji-soshō-hō |valign=top|Code of Civil Procedure (1960) {{lang|ko|민사소송법}} {{lang|ko|民事訴訟法}} Minsa-sosong-beop |valign=top|{{ill|lt=Code of Civil Procedure|Civil procedure in the Republic of China|zh|中華民國民事訴訟}} (1930) {{lang|zh-tw|民事訴訟法}} Mínshìsùsòngfǎ (Mandarin Pinyin) Minshihsusungfa (Wade-Giles) Bîn-sū Sò͘-siōng-hoat (Hokkien) Mìn-sṳ Su-siung-fap (Hakka)
4 |valign=top|Criminal Code (1907) {{lang|ja|刑法}} Keihō |valign=top|Criminal Code (1953) {{lang|ko|형법}} {{lang|ko|刑法}} Hyeong-beop |valign=top|Criminal Code (1935) {{lang|zh-tw|刑法}} Xíngfǎ (Mandarin Pinyin) Hsingfa (Wade-Giles) Hêng-hoat (Hokkien) Hìn-fap (Hakka)
5 |valign=top|Code of Criminal Procedure (1948) {{lang|ja|刑事訴訟法}} Keiji-soshō-hō |valign=top|Code of Criminal Procedure (1954) {{lang|ko|형사소송법}} {{lang|ko|刑事訴訟法}} Hyeongsa-sosong-beop |valign=top|{{ill|lt=Code of Criminal Procedure|criminal procedure in the Republic of China|zh|中華民國刑事訴訟}} (1928) {{lang|zh-tw|刑事訴訟法}} Xíngshìsùsòngfǎ (Mandarin Pinyin) Hsingshihsusungfa (Wade-Giles) Hêng-sū Sò͘-siōng-hoat (Hokkien) Hìn-sṳ Su-siung-fap (Hakka)
6 |valign=top|Commercial Code (1899) {{lang|ja|商法}} Shōhō |valign=top|Commercial Code (1962) {{lang|ko|상법}} {{lang|ko|商法}} Sang-beop |valign=top|Administrative laws (1933) {{lang|zh-tw|行政法}} 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 Code (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.{{cite journal|author=Gilpatrick, Meredith P|title=The Status of Law and Lawmaking Procedure Under the Kuomintang 1925-46.|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2049651.pdf|journal=The Far Eastern Quarterly |year=1950|volume=10|issue=1|pages=38–55|doi=10.2307/2049651|jstor=2049651|s2cid=159732824 }} The Chinese Communist Party abolished the practices of Six Codes on the land of Communist control in February 1949.{{cite news|title=中共中央关于废除国民党的六法全书与确定解放区的司法原则的指示|url=http://www.dffyw.com/sifashijian/jj/200809/20080921204129.htm}}

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).{{cite news|author=張文貞|title=超越繼受、立足臺灣、邁向國際的法學研究前景|url=https://www.most.gov.tw/most/attachments/b087f387-b55e-4c82-ba4d-e0758a8e2ac3|work=科技部104年傑出研究獎|trans-title=Prospects for Legal Research that Surpass Succession, is Based in Taiwan, and Moves Internationally|publisher=科技部 人文及社會科學研究發展司|year=2016}}.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.