Ricky Wiegard, age 14, of Meridian, Miss., for his question:

WHAT IS THE JUSTINIAN CODE?

Justinian I, ruler of the eastern Roman Empire from 527 to 565, commanded 10 of the smartest and wisest men in his realm to draw up a collection of the Roman laws. This collection is known as the Corpus Juris Civilis, which means Body of Civil Law. It is also called the Justinian Code.

The Justinian Code is recognized as one of the greatest Roman contributions to civilization. It was a compilation of early Roman laws and legal explanation of new laws and future legislation.

The code also clarified the laws of the times and has since been a basis for law codes of many countries.

The scholars who compiled the Justinian Code divided it into four parts: The "Institutes" served as a textbook in law for students and lawyers; the "Digest" was a casebook covering many trials and decisions; the "Codex" was a collection of statutes and principles; the "Novels" contained proposed new laws.