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Legal German

Legal German. Chapter 6. History of Legal German. Leges barbarorum : lex Salica , lex Ribuaria Primitive compilations : distinction between theft of a pig , a calf , a dog , etc . ( theft of a pig : 16 legal provisions ) Barbarian laws – drawn up in Latin

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Legal German

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  1. Legal German Chapter 6

  2. Historyof Legal German • Legesbarbarorum: lexSalica, lexRibuaria • Primitivecompilations: distinctionbetweentheftof a pig, acalf, adog, etc. (theftof a pig: 16 legal provisions) • Barbarianlaws – drawnupin Latin • Latin loanwords: e.g. Pacht(‘lease’) < pactum

  3. Historyof Legal German • Whencustomarylawswerein Latin, their original style had repercussions on themeansofexpressionintranslations • Latin ofmedievalGermaniclaws - a mixtureofGermanicand Roman styles • German- languageof legal proceedings on German-speakingterritories • In court hearings – German judgesalwaysusedthevernacular (dialectsof Old German)

  4. LinguisticconditionsintheHoly Roman Empire • In 800 the Pope crownedCharlemagne Roman Emperor • Whenthe empire waslaterdivided, thetraditioncontinued: Otto I got the centre ofthe Empire (today’s Germanyand northern Italy) andwascrowned Roman Emperorin 962: the (Germanic) Holy Roman Empire (HeiligesRömischesReichDeutscherNation. SacrumRomanumImperiumNationisGermanicae)

  5. LinguisticconditionsintheHoly Roman Empire • Over time, the Empire grewincreasinglypowerlessinrelation to theregional power centres • Power oftheemperordiminished, thatofregionalprincesflourished • Formally, the Empire lasteduntil 1806

  6. Status of Latin and German • Officiallanguages for theHoly Roman Empire for thewholeofitsexistence: German and Latin • The same applied to the Imperial DietandtheImperial Court (Reichskammergericht) • Viennacultivated Latin alongwith German

  7. Status of Latin and German • Medieval period: emperorshouldhave a commandofthelanguageoftheChurch; heardproposalsfrom his councilin Latin, respondinginthe same language • AftertheReformation, the protestant Statesused new German written standard (Hochdeutsch) sinceLow German was no longeracceptedintheDiet

  8. TheFloweringof Old Legal German • From 13th c. dialectsof Old German overtook Latin as thelanguageoflaw • Aftermid-13th c. the use of German spread to all areasof legal life (laws, decrees, judgments, privatedocuments) • Gradually, German ousted Latin inthe imperial chancellery • 1st lawin German: MainzerReichslandsfrieden1235 byFrederick II • Many legal documents: bilingual (Latin and German)

  9. TheFloweringof Old Legal German • Old legal German, based on dialects – notuniform • Some terms – stillused: anfechten (‘annul’), bescheinigen (‘to certify’), erweisen (‘todemonstrate’), verantworten (‘tobeanswerable for’, ‘guarantee’) • Levelofabstraction – low: largenumberofwords to describeconcretecases • Useofsynonyms or quasi-synonyms

  10. LinguisticConsequencesoftheReceptionof Roman law • TheHoly Roman Empire - no uniform legal systemcreatedbythe imperial legislator • Laws – local • Customarylaw – didnotcorrespond to theneedsof a German societycharacterisedbyrapid progress • Need for anadvanced legal system

  11. LinguisticConsequencesofReceptionof Roman law • Europeanuniversitiestaught Roman law • Notclassical Roman law but iuscommune(GemeinesRecht), createdbymedievallawyers • Inharmonywith Canon law, created on thebasisof Roman law • Roman law – stressedthe status ofthe Empire as a continuationofthe original Roman Empire

  12. LinguisticConsequencesofReceptionof Roman law • First professorsoflaw – trainedinItaly, in Roman law • Primitivecommentaries on local German lawscouldnotmatchrefined legal doctrinesoftheItalianuniversities • Professorsmovedfromcountry to country • Intellectualisationof German law; need for judgeswith a theoretical legal training

  13. LinguisticConsequencesofReceptionof Roman law • Judgesofhigher German courts – lawyerswith a universityeducation • In 1495 Imperial Court set up (Reichskammergericht) • Half judges – noblemen, halfdoctorsoflaw • Reichskamergericht applied Roman law (alsopartly Canon law) • Recognitionbythe imperial power of Roman law as thebasis for German commonlaw (GemeinesRecht)

  14. LinguisticConsequencesofReceptionof Roman law • BeneaththeReichskammergerichtstoodthelower imperial courts, whichalso applied Roman law • As theapplicationof Roman lawspreadinthe German justicesystem, layjudgesbeganasking legal scholars for opinions • Casefiles - sent to universities • German lawfacultiesprovided a kindofhigher court service esp. in 16th and 17th centuries

  15. LinguisticConsequencesofReceptionof Roman law • Status ofjudgeslackingknowledgeof Roman lawweakened, whilethatoflawprofessorsstrangthened • Opinionsof legal scholarspublished: thuswasbornususmodernusPandectarum, in 17th c. ususmodernusiuris Romani in foro Germanico • Importanceofformerlocallaw – reducedbyanimportantruleofevidence – anyonerelying on a local legal rule had to prove it

  16. Consequencesofreception • Receptionof Roman law – profoundlyinfluenced German law, conferring on it anabstractandconceptualcharacter • Before – judge’s taskrequired some life experienceand a feel for justice; now – a technicalart to belearned more formally • Justice – no longerbased on convictionoflayjudges but on theauthorityofCorpusiuriscivilis

  17. Consequencesofreception • Importanceof Canon law, esp. inthelawofinheritanceandsuccession • Theideaofappealing a judgmentandthewritten procedure - alsofrom Canon law • Reception – privatelaw (lawofcontracts, damages, lawofproperty)

  18. Linguisticconsequencesofreception • Latin loanwords • Legal German – more abstractandprecise • Fromtheendof 15th c. German legal terminologywassystematisedandpartlyLatinised • Duringthereception period, Latin gave some 80% loanwordsin German

  19. Linguisticconsequencesofreception • To reducethedisadvantagesofLatinisation, a movementbegan to write works inwhichthe new legal systemwaspresentedinvernacularandin a simplifiedform • Thechoiceoflanguagedepended on who thetextwasaimed at • Criminallegislation – in German (ConstitutioCriminalisCarolina, 1532 – a splendidlanguageproduct, comparable to Luther’s translationoftheBible)

  20. Linguisticconsequencesofreception • Bymid-18th c. German-languagelegislation – stillfulloflinguisticallymixedtexts, withmany Latin quotations

  21. Influence of Legal French • 17th c. – Frenchbecame a dominant power, spreadingitslanguageandculture to othercountries, includingtheHoly Roman Empire • SpanishandItalian – alsousedin some situations • Influence ofFrench on German – strongerinthe late 17th andearly 18th c. thanthatofEnglishtoday

  22. Influence of Legal French • ManyFrenchloanwords: inthemid-17th c. thenumberofFrenchloanwordscomparable to thatof Latin loanwords • Frenchcommerciallegislation – translatedinto German inPrussia • French – internallanguageofthePrussianMinistryofForeignAffairs; in some cases – treatiesbetweentwo or more German-speakingstates – concludedinFrench

  23. The German Enlightenmentand Legal Language • German legal languageintheBaroque: binaryformulas – notenough; the same wassaid at least 3 timesindifferentways • Lawyersbeat all otherscholars, includingtheologians, intheartofornamentinglanguage • Sentencesgrew to absurdlengths

  24. The German Enlightenmentand Legal Language • Immensenumberof legal termsdue to linguisticheritageof Old German and legal fragmentationof German (e.g. Lat. pignus‘pledge, guarantee’ – 50 German equivalents

  25. The German Enlightenmentand Legal Language • 18th c.: ideal citizen – active, awareof his rights, ratherthanthepassivesubjectofformertimes, theobjectofadministrativemeasures • Rightsofcitizens to obtaininformation on legal rules • Cultivatedcitizensshouldknowtheirrightsandduties • Requirement for clear legal languageanddraftingofintelligiblecodes

  26. The German Enlightenmentand Legal Language • Legal languageshouldbeconcise, simpleandunderstandable • It shouldbeshort, inthe image ofmilitaryorders • Legal textsshouldbeclearlyconstructed, mysteriousabbreviationsandcomplex sentence structuresabandoned, the use of Latin curtailed, wordsofforeignoriginreplacedby German words

  27. Germanisationof Legal Language • Herman Conring (1606-1681): “Ifyou use a foreignlanguage or one knownonly to thelearned, you are doing a (great) wrong to thepeople” • InternaldecayoftheHoly Roman Empire in 17th c. followingtheThirtyYearsWar • To regain national unity, the German languagewasneeded as a cohesivefactor • Pushingasideforeigninfluences

  28. Germanisationof Legal Language • Becauseoflawyers’ resistance, thelanguageremainedunchangeduntilmid-18th c. • Scholars – stillwritingin Latin • Latin dominationlastedparticularlylonginadministrativelanguage

  29. Germanisationof Legal Language • Endof 17th c. some courts, such as Reichskammergericht, drewuptheirjudgementsin German • Notaries – alsoused German • Some ofthe legal terminology had alreadybeentranslatedinto German inthe Humanist period: proprietas > Eigentum, possessio – Besitz, ususfructus – Niessbrauch ‘use’, societas – Gesellschaft, bona fides – guterGlaube

  30. Germanisationof Legal Language • Legal science: thechoiceoflanguageof works presented at bookfairsinLeipzig: • Booksin Latin • 1701:55% • 1740 :27% • 1770 :14% • Legal theses – publishedin Latin untilthemid 19th c.

  31. Germanisationof Legal Language • Endof 18th c.: German – themainlanguageofGerman legal culture; Latin – subsidiarymeansofclarifying new or difficultterms • Binaryformulas- facilitatedunderstandingofterminology: purely German wordsclarifyingthemeaningofforeignwords: publiceundöffentlich, bona fideunduntergutemGlauben

  32. Germanisationof Legal Language • More radicaldemands: Legal German had to beentirelycleansedofforeignwords: methodicalGermanisation (Eindeutschung) ofthe German language • No need for loanwords, sinceanysubjectcouldbedealtwithbyusingpurely German words • Germanisationpresupposedformulationof new wordsof a scientific nature – artificialwords (Kunstwörter)

  33. Linguisticimportanceofthe major codifications • Enlightenment: the world had to beconceptualised as a rationalsystem, functioningwithvirtuallymathematicalaccuracy • Inlaw: the major systematiccodificationswereanexpressionofthisnotion • Law had to contain “rational” solutions • “natural” solutions

  34. Linguisticimportanceofthe major codifications • Basicideaof legislative codifications – not to form a collectionof legal rulespreviusly applied but to create “natural” solutions: “codificationsof natural law” • Settingtheseinforcemeantsettingasidetheiuscommuneof Roman origin

  35. Linguisticimportanceofthe major codifications • Holy Roman Empire - in no condition to codifythelawof German territories • Works ofcodification – carriedout at a lowerlevel, inregionalStatesofthe Empire • EnlightenedsovereignsoftheseStates set aboutelaboratingcodesinspiredby natural law, to produce legal rulescorresponding to theneedsofcitizensineverydaylanguage

  36. Linguisticimportanceofthe major codifications • AllgemeinesLandesrechtfürdiepreussischenStaaten(ALR, 1794), codificationofPrussiansustantivelawcoveringconstitutionalandadministrativerights as wellasprivatelaw, andAllgemeinesBürgerlichesGesetzbuch(ABGB, 1811), a codificationofAustrian civil law • BavarianKriminalgesetzbuch(1813)

  37. Linguisticimportanceofthe major codifications • German codesof natural lawsought to improvethe legal protectionofcitizens • Allcitizenswere to knowtheirrightsandduties • Thesewere to appearclearlyandpreciselyin legal provisions • The popular characteroflawsimpliedextendedcasuistry: regulationof German natural lawcodificationswashighlydetailed, compared to thatofthe German Civil Code (BürgerlichesGesetzbuch, BGB 1900)

  38. Linguisticimportanceofthe major codifications • Natural lawcodessought to guaranteethegreatestpossiblelevelofunderstandability; style: clear, paternalandpedagogical • Search for clarity - lackof legal precision

  39. Linguisticimportanceofthe major codifications • AllgemeinesLandrecht-1st German-languagecodificationaimed at educatednon-lawyers; a breakthroughin German legislative languagethatconsiderablyinfluenced all later German-languagecodes; limitednumberofwordsofforeignorigin

  40. Legal languageof a unifiedGermany • In 19th c. Germanywasunifiedand rose to thepositionof a great power • National language – importantreflectionofnationalism • Cleansingthe German languageofforeigninfluencesintensifiedwithstrengthenednationalism; manyneologisms (e.g. in transport, over 1300 technicaltermswereGermanised 1886-93)

  41. Legal languageof a unifiedGermany • 19th c. numberofwordsofforeignoriginfellfrom 4-5 to 0.5% (e.g. Alimentation . Unterhalt, Desertion – Verlassung, Citation – Ladung ‘ summons’, Kopie – Abschrift)

  42. Legal languageof a unifiedGermany • BürgerlichesGesetzbuch(1900) almostcompletelyGermanisedterminologyof German privatelaw (Papierdeutsch) • German lawyers – grewused to the new language; terminologyof BGB fuelledordinary German through use oflanguagebytheauthorities: commonparlanceadopted legal termsin a more general sense

  43. 19th c. schoolsoflaw • Notionsof natural lawgaveway to theHistoricalSchooloflaw • Romanticviews - law is anorganicentityofeachsociety • Previously, universalcharacteroflawunderlined - commonto all humanity • New ideology: lawfashionedby separate heritageof a people

  44. 19th c. schoolsoflaw • Historicalschool – freshstrenghteningof Roman law • Roman law - considered to beanessentialpartofthe German legal heritage • Importanceof State power as creatorofthelaw – underlined • Legal positivism, according to whichwrittenlaws are the sole or themainsourceoflaw, spread

  45. 19th c. schoolsoflaw • Previously- representativesof natural lawandtheHistoricalSchool had discussedcharacteristicsof “true” law • Positivists no longer put thatquestion- Purelyformalcriteriawereenough to justifythevalidityof a legal rule; stressedthesupremacyof legislative rules, whichcouldbeexpressedclearlyandwithoutcontradicitons, contrary to legal rulesofothertypes

  46. 19th c. schoolsoflaw • Begriffsjurisprudenz ‘conceptualjurisprudence’ maintainedthatthe legal orderwas a systemformedby legal concepts • Legal reasoningwas to bebased on thegroundingofconceptsinthesystem • Eachconceptwas to finditsright place inthe legal system, enablinganoverviewoflegaleffects

  47. 19th c. schoolsoflaw • According to thisdoctrine, a logicalandexhaustivesystemof legal coneptsallowed sure andsimpleresolutionofdisputes: it wasenough for thelawyer to link thefactsof a dispute to thesystemofconceptstoproduceanalmost automatic resolution

  48. 19th c. schoolsoflaw • InteressenjurisprudenzandFreirechtsschule – reactionsagainstBegriffsjurisprudenz • Interessenjurisprudenz : importanceoflegilsativeaimsstandinginthebackgroundof legal rules, inlegalinterpretation • Freirechtsschulemaintainedtheindependentcharacterofapplicationoflawinrelation to writtenlaw • Both: legal rulesmerely a meanstowardsattainingsocialends

  49. BürgerlichesGesetzbuch, BGB, 1900 • The most celebratedpieceof German legislation • Excellentinternallogicofthecodes (on the model of natural sciences) but itscontent is noteasilyunderstoodfromthereader’s standpoint • A monument ofrefined legal scholarship; written for judgesversedinlaw, notforlaymen

  50. BürgerlichesGesetzbuch, BGB, 1900 • Conceptualhierarchisation, “pyramidsofconcepts” • Rechtsgeschäft ‘legal act’, ‘juristicact’, ‘actinlaw’, ‘legaltransaction’, ‘transaction’, ‘juridicalact’; Willenserklärung ‘declarationofintent’, ‘declarationofwill’, ‘declaratoryact’, ‘actof a party’; Schuldverhältnis ‘ legal relationshipetweencreditoranddebtor’, ‘obligation’, ‘debtrelationship’

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