Final answer:
The answer is option C. Justinian’s Code was an influential legal document that unified and codified Roman laws, serving as a comprehensive legal guide for the empire. It addressed inconsistencies in previous laws and preserved them in Latin, establishing a foundational model for many European legal systems.
Step-by-step explanation:
The best explanation of Justinian's Code of Laws is that it allowed people to refer to one document as a legal guide (Option C). Emperor Justinian sought to unify Roman law and establish consistency throughout the empire by initiating a massive legal project known as the Code of Justinian. This code compiled and edited previous Roman edicts, clarified inconsistencies, and preserved the laws in their original Latin, which by then had become a status symbol among the educated elite. Justinian’s legal reforms, including the Corpus Juris Civilis, formed the basis for many European legal systems that followed.
While the Theodosian Code was the first attempt at harmonizing laws since the days of the Republic, Justinian's Code was more comprehensive and focused on removing contradictions in the existing laws. Additionally, despite the increasing use of Greek, Latin remained the legislative language, reinforcing the empire's cultural link to its past. Thus, Justinian's Code was an influential transformation in legal history, ensuring a unified legal framework for the Eastern Roman Empire.