In recent years, voluntary codes havebeen increasingly employed across the globe to drivecorporate governance reform. These guidelines, which emanatefrom stock exchanges, securities commissions, investors andinvestor associations, and supra-national organizations, setforth "best practice" recommendations across arange of topics that listed companies, shareholders, andother relevant parties are encouraged but not obliged tofollow. Today, corporate governance codes are found in over70 countries. It is relatively straightforward to developcorporate governance codes. The challenge lies in ensuringtheir effective implementation and enforcement, as evidencedby the complaints heard in some countries that governancecodes have not lived up to their promise to spur enduringimprovements in corporate practices. The concerns voicedrange from poorly written guidelines to inadequate levels ofcompliance by companies to "box-ticking" byinvestors. This opinion piece will begin with an examinationof the principal uses and key design characteristics of acorporate governance code.