Codifier

A codifier is a person or thing that codifies—that is, one who arranges rules, laws, or information into a code or systematic collection.

In law, the term denotes an official or body responsible for drafting and organizing a codified set of laws. Codifiers work to harmonize statutes, standardize terminology, and maintain codes of law. Historical examples include large-scale codification efforts such as the Roman Corpus Juris Civilis and the French Napoleonic Code, which were produced through legislative and administrative processes rather than by a single author. In contemporary jurisdictions, codification bureaus, ministries of justice, or dedicated commissions may serve as codifiers, guiding the creation and revision of civil, commercial, or criminal codes.

In other fields, usage of the term is less common. The word may appear in informal contexts to describe software components that encode information, but more standard terms are encoder, coder, or compiler. For data transmission and storage, a module that applies a coding scheme—such as error-correcting, compression, or encryption—might be described as a codifier in some texts, though this usage is not universal.

Etymology: codifier derives from Latin codificare, meaning to make into code, from codex (code, book) and -facere (to make).

See also codification, code, civil code, and legislative drafting.