Danish Code: Difference between revisions

{{refimprovemore citations needed|date=October 2010}}

'''Danske Lov''' (''English'': '''Danish Code''') is the title of a [[Denmark|Danish]] [[statute book]] from 1683, that previously formed the basis for the Danish legislation. Even though it iswas mainly a compilation of older, regional laws, it took 7seven different commissions over several decades under two different monarchs to put the Code together. In 1687, Norway received its [[Norwegian Code]], which in form and content is about identical withto the Danish Code. The Danish Code has been translated into English, Latin, German and Russian.

The statute needs toshould be viewed in connection with the European traditions of justice, which since the 12th century has moved towards an assembly of different practices. This tradition was encouraged by the [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic church]]. The majority of the statute has now been superseded by newer laws. However, parts of the Code are still applyin force, e.g. 3-19-2, which states that an employer is responsible for compensation for damages that an employee might cause during his/her employment.

The historical book {{lang|la|[[Gesta Danorum]]}} by [[Saxo Grammaticus]], which is dated to the 13th century, describes the [[List of Danish monarchs|Danish kings']] attempts at legislation. One of the first examples of Danish legislation was 'Vederloven' from the 1180s, that regulated the personal army of the king, also known as the [[Housecarl]]s. This was superseded by a series of regional laws, first [[Scanian Law]], later [[Jyske Lov]] and [[Sjællandske Lov]]. Generally, the regional laws are based on [[Casuistry]]. This means that they are based on concrete cases of breaches of the law, and describe how the conflict is to be solved. However, the rules of procedure are broad.

Immediately after gaining absolute power King [[Frederick III of Denmark|Frederick III]] appointed a commission to scrutinize the laws of the kingdom, to identify laws that were in conflict with the absolute power of the king and to work out a new procedure for the administration of justice. The Danish Code is seen as being born of necessity, as justice was at the time administered on the basis of a large number of somewhat contradictory laws.

Additionally, the division of Denmark into two judiciary areas, based on [[Jutland]] and [[Zealand]] respectively was seen as bothersome and anachronistic. On January 12, 1661, the State College (Danish: '{{lang-da|Statskollegiet'}}), a governing body overseeing the workings of the government, published a report suggesting to work out a comprehensive Danish Code. King Frederick III then established The First Law Committee consisting of 3 jurists (including Supreme Court [[Assessor (law)|Assessor]] [[Peder Lassen]]), 8 noblemen and 10 civilians. Work in the first Committee broke down, one of the causes being that the noblemen were unhappy with the suggested diminishing of their privileges.

On November 16, 1662, the King replaced the first Committee with the Second Law Committee consisting of the former Committee's four foremost legal experts, Peder Lassen, [[Heinrich Ernst]], [[Otte Krag]] and [[Niels Trolle]]. The Committee drafted several completely new statutes, and especially Peder Lassens suggestions regarding inheritance were ahead of their time in Denmark.<ref>Stig Iuul, 1954, p. 26.</ref> The Committeecommittee's suggestions regarding laws of legal procedure were handed to the State College, which replied positively in July, 1664. To revise the suggestions, the Second Law Committee was expanded with four jurists from the State College, after which the work began to decline once again.

Work in the Third Committee did not get under way, so on March 8, 1666, the King ordered each of the Committeecommittee's four members to compile and revise their own set of laws, removing outdated statutes from the Danish system of legal writs. In practice, all earlier work was abandoned, which was a defeat for Lassen who had been the driving force so far, and perhaps a tactical move by the King to have him superseded by Vinding.<ref>Stig Iuul, 1954, p. 33</ref> Of the four submitted drafts, Vinding's so-called ''Codex Fredericus'' gained the best reception, after which legislative work dwindled down again. Meanwhile, Lassen kept his rejected draft at hand should Vinding's draft be turned down.

By the late 1660s, Vinding's friend Peder Schumacher was appointed as Assessor both to the State College and the Supreme Court. He used his influence with the King to get Vinding's draft approved, so Vinding by a secret order on March 11, 1669, was given the task of drafting the new body of laws, ''Corpus juris Danici''.<ref>Stig Iuul, 1954, s. 36.</ref> By the end of 1669, Vinding put forth his suggestions, which was an updated version of his earlier ''Codex Fredericus'', but with a more systematic setup and fewer outdated or contradictory sections. The content of the text was mainly old laws coupled with new laws based on earlier verdicts (i.e. [[Common Law]]).<ref>Stig Iuul, 1954, p. 44-54</ref>

''First Committee:'' After a long break, on September 24, 1672, a three-person Revision Committee was established to revise Rasmus Vindings draft. The three members were Peder Lassen, Attorney General [[Peder Lauridsen Scavenius]] and chancellor [[Peder Reedtz]], who headed the committee. Bishop [[Hans Vandal]] was also connected to the work, revising the sections dealing with the clergy. Lassen criticized Vinding's division of the Code into five parts, suggesting only three parts instead. However, his criticism was not as vehement as previously, perhaps because he tired out – Lassen had been connected with the project since its beginning 11 years earlier.<ref>Stig Iuul, 1954, p. 57</ref> Lassen's revisions to the draft are mostly corrections of misunderstandings, with very few highly negative comments. Thus, Vinding and Griffenfeld (previously Schumacher) had won the battle over the layout of the text.

In addition to the oaths sworn by judges and witnesses, the Danish code contains six books:

The final Danish Code is first and foremost based on earlier Danish legislative work. [[Roman law]], which held great influence in Europe outside Scandinavia at the time, can only be traced in a few places.<ref>Stig Iuul, 1954, p. 72.</ref> This fits well with the main purpose, which since the Third Law Committee was to compile already existing laws into a more useful format. Thus, the Danish Code only treated new areas to a limited extent.

* [http://isis.ku.dk/kurser/index.aspx?kursusid=25080&xslt=default (Danish) History of Law at the Department of Law at University of Copenhagen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209104516/http://isis.ku.dk/kurser/index.aspx?kursusid=25080&xslt=default |date=2008-02-09 }}

* [http://www.retsinfo.dk/_GETDOCI_/ACCN/A16831100030-REGL (Danish) The Danish Code on the website Retsinfo – see here which parts are still applyin force]

[[Category:Legal17th historycentury ofin DenmarkDanish law]]