[Spivak]

The whole point of having a code is to be a thing those mods can point to to justify the banhammer when people complain.

Everyone has a CoC, some people write them down.

[FeepingCreature]

Well, I just think that's a bit misleading.

The justification for the banhammer is "I think you should be banned." The CoC doesn't enable or permit the mods to ban you. The mods can ban you because they're the mods; "can ban you" is pretty much definitionally identical to "is a mod." At most a CoC can serve as a guidebook for users.