Code, in law, combines all the laws on a given subject in a single statute or ordinance. It is passed by a legislative body, such as a federal congress, a state legislature, a county board of supervisors, or a village board. It is purely statutory law, as distinguished from the common law that arises from court decisions.
In theory, it is possible for all the laws in a code to be new in the sense that no law has ever been passed dealing with the particular subject. But in practice, a code nearly always represents a systematic and comprehensive revision of all the laws that the legislative body has passed on a given subject.
Statutes usually develop only as problems arise that point out the need for rules and regulations on certain points. The development of laws concerning automobiles is an example. The first rules set speed limits and required drivers to keep to the right. Then vehicles, and later drivers, were licensed. Stop signs, traffic lights, and traffic regulations were established. Many cities passed regulations without regard to making them consistent with state laws.
Such piecemeal legislation left many gaps, uncertainties, and conflicts among the many separate regulations. As a result, most states revised their motor-vehicle laws, made them consistent, filled the gaps, and removed uncertainties. They enacted a single series of laws called a Motor Vehicle Code.
Other well-known codes include the federal criminal code, state commercial codes, and local or county building codes. Some villages combine all their laws into a village code.
