Journal of Research and Development in Comparative Law

Journal of Research and Development in Comparative Law

Code and Code; Applying Programming Languages Theory in Law (Comparative Study of Law Versions in UK and USA)

Document Type : scientific research paper

Authors
1 Allameh Tabataba'i University, Department of Public Law
2 Allameh Tabataba'i University
Abstract
Both programmers refer to their software programs as code and jurists refer to their laws and regulations by the term the “code”. Such a verbal commonality between these two terms inherently indicates a set of technical and functional truths concerning the substantive and structural dimensions shared between these two fields. The discovery and identification of these common dimensions allow, after presuming a similarity between them, for the transference of the properties and features existing in programming languages to laws and regulations, and to utilize them for enhancing the three aspects of accuracy, efficiency, and transparency of laws. The utilization of the theory of programming languages as a foundational discipline in the field of computer sciences, the concept of algorithm, and recent technical experiences in this field constitute the research and a study basis of this article, the application of which under the title of an interdisciplinary and comparative study has led to the creation of a new analytical method in legal science. This article, with attention to the topics of lawmaking, law enforcement, and legal interpretation, will address and examine how the theory of programming languages can be applied in legal analysis through a descriptive-analytical method. This research is considered novel in terms of subject literature, and in terms of legal thought and philosophy of law, it follows the general studies regarding the relationship between laws and software codes, which over the past two decades in the legal system of the United States of America has been examined by some scholars under the title of "Law as Code Version Two," and in recent years in England under the title of "Law as Code Version Three." However, in that it scientifically and logically elucidates the relationship between legal codes and software codes for the first time, this article is considered innovative.
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Subjects


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Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 15 November 2025