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RAHUL SHAH   26 August 2021

Difference between an act and a code

Greetings of the day. 

Can someone please tell me the difference between an Act and a Code? For example, the Indian Contract Act is an Act, but the Indian Penal Code is a code. So what are the differences between the two?

 

Thanking you in anticipation



Learning

 3 Replies

Kevin Moses Paul   26 August 2021

As per your query, let me inform you that in legal field, an enactment or a statute or a bill or a regulation which has passed through several legislative steps needed for it and which has become law is called an ACT. While on the other hand, a specific type of action made by legislature that tries to cover a complete system of laws is called a CODE. It is enacted by a process of codification.

Thus, it is just to say that an 'Act' as essentially a "Decision made passed into law", while a 'Code' refers to " a collection of acts already passed into law".

However, there is no rule that governs the matter regarding when to use an “Act” and when to use a “Code”. For instance — “Criminal Justice Act” vs. “Penal Code”.

Henceforth, an ACT is a decision passed into law, where a CODE is a collection of already existing laws. According to the general legal context, “Act” can be a statute or decision by legislation after a bill has been passed, and a “Code” is a complete statement of the law in a given area.

Hope It Helps!

Regards
Kevin M. Paul
1 Like

Dr J C Vashista (Advocate)     27 August 2021

Nothing more than a time pass question.

Komba Benard   08 November 2023

How about civil code


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