The article analyzes the scientific literature on the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire. The author characterized, summarized, and systematized the critical comments of lawyers regarding the Code of Laws. The work highlights non-constructive and constructive aspects of scientific criticism. On this theoretical basis, it is proven that the systematization plan chosen by M. M. Speransky turned out to be a real path, which was subsequently followed by other codifiers of domestic law in the twentieth century. The criticism of the Code of Laws revealed justified comments that contribute to the improvement of legal systematization techniques. By summarizing them, the author formulated rules for systematizing legislation that remain relevant.
