This book explains the structure and terminology of some of the main areas of German public and private law. Amid the increasing complexity of international legal relations, the book provides a firm reference point for those native English speakers who deal with legal matters in Germany, for those who wish to grasp the nettle of the intricate German legal system and language for the first time and for those who aim to qualify as German lawyers.

German Legal System and Laws provides a comprehensive introduction to the German legal system and the core areas of substantive law of Germany. Constitutional law is the foundation German law and this area has been given fuller consideration in this third edition. This area is now dealt with in three separate chapters given over to Constitutional Organs of State, Basic Rights and Administrative law. The text has been fully amended and updated with regard to a wealth of legislation and case law which has radically altered the course of German law in recent months. Special consideration is given to the area of the law of obligations, which has undergone radical change recently. Included are expanded and updated extracts from the Grundgesetz and fully revised glossaries of German legal terms.

Why did the judges, lawyers, and law professors of a civilized state succumb to a lawless regime? What happened to liberalism and the rule of law under the Third Reich? How many of the legal institutions and how much of their personnel carried over to the West German state after World War II?

"This volume is a collection of the papers presented at the first ('kick-off') meeting in ... Dornburg, near Jena (Germany), 26-28 May 2005."--Foreword.

German Legal System and Laws provides a comprehensive introduction to the German legal system and the core areas of substantive law. Constitutional law is the foundation of German law and this area has been given fuller consideration in this fourth edition. The constitutional organs of state, basic rights and administrative law are all thoroughly explained. The text has been fully amended and updated with regard to a wealth of legislation and case law which has radically altered the course of German law with considerable attention being given to the development of private law. Also included are expanded and updated extracts from the Grundgesetz and fully revised glossaries of German legal terms.

European law, including both civil law and common law, has gone through several major phases of expansion in the world. European legal history thus also is a history of legal transplants and cultural borrowings, which national legal histories as products of nineteenth-century historicism have until recently largely left unconsidered. The Handbook of European Legal History supplies its readers with an overview of the different phases of European legal history in the light of today's state-of-the-art research, by offering cutting-edge views on research questions currently emerging in international discussions. The Handbook takes a broad approach to its subject matter both nationally and systemically. Unlike traditional European legal histories, which tend to concentrate on "heartlands" of Europe (notably Italy and Germany), the Europe of the Handbook is more versatile and nuanced, taking into consideration the legal developments in Europe's geographical "fringes" such as Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. The Handbook covers all major time periods, from the ancient Greek law to the twenty-first century. Contributors include acknowledged leaders in the field as well as rising talents, representing a wide range of legal systems, methodologies, areas of expertise and research agendas.

James Herget explains to American legal scholars and students the main points of the characteristic legal philosophy that has developed in the German-speaking world since World War II. After a historical introduction and overview, he discusses critical rationalism, discourse theory, rhetorical theory, systems theory, and institutional legal positivism. He concludes with a general assessment and appends biographical information. Written for American legal scholars and students, who traditionally are exposed only to filtered versions of comparative legal traditions, this volume introduces a new world of legal theory that resonates within the context of other contemporary disciplines and German intellectual history.

This revised and fully up-to-date English translation of the 7th edition of the Casebook Verfassungsrecht includes a new outline of the German constitution, the BVerfG Court, and its jurisprudence. It condenses more than six decades of constitutional jurisprudence in order to familiarize readers with the style, technique, and language of the Court. As well as an analysis of the general principles of German constitutional law, the book covers the salient articles of the German Constitution and offers relevant extracts of the Court's most important decisions on the provisions of the Basic Law. It provides notes and discussions of landmark cases to illustrate their legal and historical context and give the reader a clear understanding of the principles governing German constitutional law. The book covers the fundamental rights catalogue of the Basic Law and offers a comprehensive account of its intellectual moorings. It includes landmark jurisprudence on the equal treatment of same-sex couples, life imprisonment, the legal structure of property, the right to assembly, and the right to informational self-presentation. The book also covers the provisions and respective case law governing the state structure of Germany, for instance the recent decisions on the prohibition of the far-right German nationalist party, and the Court's jurisprudence on European integration, including the most recent decisions on the OMT-program of the European Central Bank.

Comprehensive and accessible, this book offers a concise synthesis of the evolution of the law in Western Europe, from ancient Rome to the beginning of the twentieth century. It situates law in the wider framework of Europe’s political, economic, social and cultural developments.

A path-breaking critical analysis of the meaning and interpretation of the German constitution in the Weimar years (1919-1933).