Codex Iustinianus

one of the components of the Corpus Iuris Civilis, the codification of Justinian. The codex includes 4,652 excerpts from imperial ordinances (constitutions) published beginning with the reign of the emperor Hadrian (2nd century A.D.) and ending with Justinian himself. It consists of 12 books: the first book deals with church law and the obligations of government employees, books 2 through 8 with private law, including property and other relations, book 9 with criminal law, and books 10 through 12 with administrative and financial law.