Lex scripta pl. leges scriptae is a Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 expression that means "written or statutory law

Statutory law

Statutory law or statute law is written law set down by a legislature or by a legislator .Statutes may originate with national, state legislatures or local municipalities...

." It is in contrast to lex non scripta

Lex non scripta

Lex non scripta is a Latin expression that means "'law not written'" or "'unwritten law'". It is a term that embraces all the laws which do not come under the definition of written law or "lex scripta" and it is composed, principally, of the law of nature, the law of nations, the common law, and...

, customary or common law

Common law

Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...

. The term originates from the Roman legal

Roman law

Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...

 tradition. Emperor Justinian divides the lex scripta into several categories:

• Statutes
• Plebiscita
• Senatorial Decrees
• The Decisions of the Emperors
• Orders of the Magistrates
• Answers of Jurisconsults

Lex scripta has a lasting effect that can define a legal tradition for a culture such as that found in the Corpus Juris Civilis

Corpus Juris Civilis

The Corpus Juris Civilis is the modern name for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I, Eastern Roman Emperor...

, Magna Carta

Magna Carta

Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...

, Tang Code

Tang Code

The Tang Code was a penal code that was established and used during the Tang Dynasty in China. Supplemented by civil statutes and regulations, it became the basis for later dynastic codes not only in China but elsewhere in East Asia. The Code synthesised Legalist and Confucian interpretations of...

, or a country's constitution

Constitution

A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...

.