This article describes the life and introduces the works of Rudolf von Jhering, whose life span covered the 19th century and who unfolded an enormous influence on private law and on legal philosophy in his later years. He is considered one of the brightest representatives of German pandectism as well as one of the most remarkable legal historians and doctrinal theorists. His acrimonious attacks against the legal conceptualism ('Begriffsjurisprudenz') of his time and his pleadings in favour of a frank jurisprudence, oriented and guided by the interests of the parties concerned, yielded almost universal acknowledgement. After his habilitation in Berlin, Jhering assumed professorships in Bale (1845), Rostock (1846), Kiel (1948), Giessen (1852), Vienna (1868), where he was ennobled, and eventually Goettingen (1872). He was heavily coined by his teacher Puchta and by the idealistic historical philosophy of Hegel, whereas his relationship to the school of Savigny was always very tense. His main merits lie in the modernisation of the received Roman law and the development of methodological innovations focusing upon aims and ends intended by the legislator respectively the parties involved. Moreover, he can be seen as the 'inventor' of the 'culpa in contrahendo' - doctrine about faulty behaviour causing damages in the course of pre-contractual negotiations. His doctrinal writings also brought a breakthrough in private as well as in criminal law with regard to a clear and sharp distinction between unlawfulness (Rechtswidrigkeit) and guilt (Schuld). Ali in all von Jhering, like hardy any other law professors of his time, paved the way towards the law of the 20th century. The article discusses the mayor works and their long-lasting effects on various fields of law.
Karl Larenz was one of the greatest German jurists of the 20th century. Few jurists have had such impact on the German juristidiction after World War II. With numerous contributions on the general part of the law of obligations, the law of special obligations and the general part of the German Civil Code, Larenz's textbooks have become some of the essential textbooks for law students. Karl Larenz was born in 1903 in Wesel am Rhein. At age 25, after studying law, history and economics in Berlin, Marburg and Göttingen, he qualified as a professor with his book about the method of interpretation of legal acts (Methode der Auslegung Rechtsgeschäfts). During the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany, Larenz's writings were characterized by his interest in philosophy. Thanks to his mentor Julius Binder, Larenz became a follower of the writings of Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel, whose philosophy had a huge influence on Larenz views. Influenced by Hegel's ideas, Larenz developed his theory on the concrete-general term (konkret-allgemeinen Begriff) and his doctrine of types (Typenlehre). After Larenz death, his philosophical and political opinions led to a discussion about his role in Nazi Germany. Larenz's proponents saw him as a jurist who tried to keep the Nazis within bounds, so that they would be obligated to respect at least a minimum of moral principals. Others objected to his views that legal capacity should only be given to someone who is of German descent. Therefore, his opponents put forward, he was guilty for being a part of Nazi Germany. After World War II, Larenz mainly focused on general civil law and the correct juridical approach in his writings (juristischen Methodik). Only when he started to write his famous textbooks, which were even translated into different languages, did his opinions on certain problems in civil law became part of the prevailing German jurisdiction. For instance, the contract with protective consequences for third parties (Vertrag mit Schutzwirkung zugunsten Dritter) and Larenz's validation theory regarding declarations of intent (Geltungstheorie) became prominent in German law. Furthermore, some of Larenz's legal doctrines have been incorporated into the German Civil Code. One example is the incorporation of his doctrine about the interference with the basis of the transaction (Störung des Geschäftsgrundlage) into § 313 of the German Civil Code. Larenz stopped dedicating all his efforts to jurisprudence merely two years before his death. He passed away at the age of 89 in Olchingen near Munich.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.