Danish Code: Difference between revisions

''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.

''Second Committee:'' With the death of committee leader Reedz on July 10, 1674, Griffenfeld took over. He created the Second Revision Committee by including his brother-in-law, mayor of [[Copenhagen]] [[Jørgen Fogh]] and his friend Vinding in the committee. When Griffenfeld fell from power on March 11, 1676, work on the Danish Code stopped completely for four years.

''Third Committee:'' On February 28, 1680, a royal missive was published establishing the Third Revision Committee. It consisted of 13 members, among these the three clergymen bishop [[Hans Bagger]], Royal Confessor [[Hans Leth]] and professor in theology [[Kristian Nold]]. Work in the committee broke down, mainly because of the clergymen who unsuccessfully tried to demolish the committee. The sticking point was the rights of confession of foreigners living in Denmark, especially the exiled French [[Huguenot|Huguenots]].

''Fourth Committee:'' The drawn out arguments caused the King to appoint a Fourth Revision Committee on April 16, 1681, consisting of four people, among these Rasmus Vinding. They were selected to complete a final revision of the Code, and they made many minor changes and additions to the previous draft.<ref>Stig Iuul, 1954, p. 71</ref> The committee completed its work by the end of 1681, and the King approved the Danish Code on January 3, 1682. Small corrections continued to be made until June 23, where the Law was printed, even though it was officially completed on April 15, the King’s birthday.