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| Gesellschaft für Rechts- und Staatswissenschaften | |
|---|---|
| Name | Gesellschaft für Rechts- und Staatswissenschaften |
| Type | Learned society |
Gesellschaft für Rechts- und Staatswissenschaften is a learned society devoted to comparative study and promotion of jurisprudence, constitutional law, and public administration as practiced in German-speaking regions and in comparative international contexts. Founded in the late 19th or early 20th century in the milieu of European legal scholarship, the society has engaged scholars from universities, courts, and administrative bodies across Berlin, Vienna, Munich, Heidelberg, Hamburg, Leipzig, and other centers. Its activities have intersected with developments surrounding landmark events such as the Weimar Republic, the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Treaty of Versailles, and later European integration initiatives like the Treaty of Rome and the Maastricht Treaty.
The society emerged amid debates that involved figures associated with institutions like University of Göttingen, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Vienna, Jagiellonian University, and University of Zurich, while responding to political and legal crises exemplified by the Revolutions of 1848, the formation of the German Confederation, and the legal codifications represented by the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch). Early membership included scholars who taught alongside personalities from Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, contributors linked to the Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, and jurists who served in tribunals such as the Reichsgericht and later the Bundesverfassungsgericht. Through the interwar period the society navigated tensions involving the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the Locarno Treaties, and during the post-1945 era adapted to legal reconstruction associated with the Nuremberg Trials and the establishment of institutions like the European Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice.
The society's stated purposes include promoting comparative scholarship that connects traditions from Roman law to modern codifications such as the Swiss Civil Code, influencing administrative practice in bodies like the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, and fostering dialogue among scholars who publish in venues linked to the Max Planck Society, the German Historical Institute, and the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen. Activities range from hosting lectures by scholars affiliated with Oxford University, University of Cambridge, Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Columbia Law School, and Sciences Po to organizing collaborative projects with entities such as the Council of Europe, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the United Nations system, including scholars with ties to the International Law Commission and the European Commission.
Membership has historically encompassed professors from faculties such as those at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, University of Bonn, University of Cologne, Leiden University, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, and University of Bologna; practitioners from courts like the European Court of Justice and institutions including the German Bundestag; and legal historians connected to archives like the Bundesarchiv and the Austrian State Archives. Organizational structure typically features an elected presidium reminiscent of governance models in societies such as the Royal Society and the Académie des Sciences Sociales, advisory committees with links to research centers such as the Humboldt Foundation and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and regional sections patterned on associations like the American Bar Association and the International Association of Penal Law.
The society issues monographic series and collaborates on periodicals with editorial boards drawn from universities including University of Freiburg, University of Tübingen, University of Strasbourg, Charles University, and University of Warsaw. Its publications have appeared alongside established journals and series associated with publishers connected to De Gruyter, Springer, and Oxford University Press, and have engaged with editorial projects touching on works such as the Handbuch des Staatsrechts, commentaries on the Grundgesetz für die Bundesrepublik Deutschland, and collections inspired by comparative volumes like those of the Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law.
Regular conferences and symposia link the society to events hosted in venues such as the German Historical Museum, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and the Palais des Académies; thematic sessions have addressed subjects exemplified by the Hague Conventions, the Geneva Conventions, the European Convention on Human Rights, and constitutional challenges seen after events like German reunification. Joint conferences and workshops have been organized with partners like the European University Institute, the Hague Academy of International Law, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, and national institutions including the Bundesrat and the Landtage of various German states.
Over the years, the society has counted among its members jurists, historians, and administrators comparable to personalities associated with the Otto von Bismarck era, scholars connected to Gustav Radbruch, academics in the lineage of Hans Kelsen, figures from the circles of Carl Schmitt and critics of his thought, and contributors aligned with modern scholars from Jürgen Habermas, Julius von Kirchmann, and the network around the Max Planck Institute. Leadership has included professors who held chairs at institutions like University of Erlangen–Nuremberg, University of Münster, University of Marburg, and visiting scholars from Princeton University and Stanford Law School. The society's alumni and officers have also served in public roles within administrations tied to events such as the drafting of constitutions for post-conflict states and in advisory capacities to supranational courts including the European Court of Human Rights and the International Criminal Court.
Category:Learned societies