General German Commercial Code

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Basic data
Title: General German Commercial Code
Abbreviation: ADHGB
Type: law
Scope: German Confederation (1861–1866)
North German Confederation and German Empire (1869–1900)
Austria (1863–1938)
Liechtenstein (since 1865)
Legal matter: Commercial law
Issued on: May 31, 1861
Entry into force on:
Expiry: 01/01/1900 (for Germany when the HGB comes into force)
Weblink: ADHGB (1869)
Please note the note on the applicable legal version.

The General German Commercial Code ( ADHGB ) was the first comprehensively codified and widely applicable Commercial Code in Germany and the predecessor of today's German Commercial Code (HGB). The law was “general” insofar as it was the law of the individual states of the German Confederation with the same content .

history

Legal starting position

Until the introduction of the ADHGB, German commercial law reflected the political fragmentation of Germany.

Prussian general land law

The General Landrecht (ALR) of 1794 was valid for the Prussian state territory . The eighth title contained the regulations on the "Bürgerstands". In addition to the regulations for craftsmen (sections 179 to 400), artists and manufacturers (sections 401 to 423), this also included those for merchants (sections 475 to 712). Here, §§ 475 to 496 ALR defined the merchant status. Sections 497 to 545 ALR concerned “ factors and dispatchers”, whereby the power of attorney was found in Sections 498 et seq. ALR. Sections 546 to 553 ALR comment on servants and apprentices, Sections 562 to 613 ALR on trading books and Sections 614 to 683 ALR on trading companies. Sections 684 to 697 ALR deal with commercial interest, Sections 698 to 701 ALR deal with commissions and Sections 702 to 712 ALR deal with commercial recommendations.

Code de commerce

In the areas on the left bank of the Rhine and in Baden (as an annex to the Baden Landrecht ), the French Code de Commerce of 1807 applied, which is based on objective trading, i.e. not on the merchant status of the trader.

Particular rights and common law

Otherwise, particular rights or, on a subsidiary basis, common law applied .

Designed in 1849

Preparatory work on the ADHGB goes back to the years 1848/49. The Paulskirche constitution of March 28, 1849 already saw in § 64 a. a. the creation of a general code of commercial law. A commission had already started the preparatory work on December 2, 1848. In March 1849 a “draft of a general commercial code for Germany” was finally submitted. After the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm IV had rejected the imperial crown offered to him on April 4, 1849, the constitutional project had failed. The commission disbanded that same year.

The ADHGB

The Nuremberg Commercial Code Commission

At the suggestion of the Kingdom of Bavaria , the Federal Assembly of the German Confederation set up a commission on February 21, 1856 to draw up a commercial code. King Maximilian II Joseph of Bavaria is said to have personally suggested this project. The Prussian Bundestag envoy Otto von Bismarck did not vote against the Bavarian proposal , contrary to the instructions of the Prussian Prime Minister Otto Theodor von Manteuffel . At Bismarck's suggestion, it was not Frankfurt am Main, the seat of the Bundestag, but the old trading city of Nuremberg that was chosen as the conference venue. The first trading laws were enacted in the vicinity of the Nuremberg Stock Exchange as early as the 16th century. The working group should go down in history as the Nuremberg Commercial Code Commission.

The commission met from January 1857 under the direction of the Bavarian Minister of Justice Friedrich von Ringelmann . The commission also included numerous merchants. The German business community and legal scholars spoke out against the pre-industrial and therefore obsolete Code de commerce as a template for the ADHGB. A Prussian draft made the running as a basis for work.

Decision on the ADHGB

General German Commercial Code (ADHGB) for Nassau

On May 31, 1861, the “Nuremberg Draft” of a General German Commercial Code (ADHGB) was recommended by the Federal Assembly of the German Confederation for its introduction in the individual states. From 1861 it was considered a law with the same content in the states of the German Confederation . Some federal states, such as the Free City of Hamburg , even declared the ADHGB to be applicable for legal transactions without commercial participation.

Development after 1866

The German Confederation was dissolved in Augsburg on August 23, 1866. The ADHGB continued in the former federal states.

Germany

Proclamation of the ADHGB in the Federal Law Gazette of the North German Confederation (June 5, 1869)

The North German Confederation adopted the ADHGB on June 5, 1869 by federal law. The ADHGB remained in force in the German Empire in accordance with the Reich Law of April 16, 1871. The highest court for the interpretation of the ADHGB was from 1869 to 1879 the Reich Higher Commercial Court (ROHG, until 1871 Federal Higher Commercial Court ), which later became part of the Reichsgericht . The ADHGB was replaced in the German Empire by the Commercial Code (HGB) issued on May 10, 1897 , which came into force on January 1, 1900 together with the Civil Code (BGB) .

Austria

The ADHGB was introduced as the “ General Commercial Code ” (AHGB) in 1863 in the Austrian Empire (ÖRGBl 1/1863). After the founding of the Republic of Austria, it was generally valid until it was annexed to the German Reich on March 13, 1938. After that, it was successively replaced by the HGB .

Liechtenstein

The General German Commercial Code (ADHGB) was adopted by law of September 16, 1865 in the Principality of Liechtenstein . It is still in force today under this name. Large parts, however, were replaced by the Personal and Company Law (PGR) that came into force on February 19, 1926 . The ADHGB is still of practical importance for the areas of authorized signatories, authorized agents, brokers and commercial transactions.

content

According to its basic concept, the ADHGB rather follows the objective system represented by Levin Goldschmidt , which objectively determined the merchant on the basis of legally standardized commercial transactions. The professional orientation according to Johann Heinrich Thöl was therefore rejected.

reception

In the absence of a “General German Civil Code”, the ADHGB also contained general regulations on representation (Art. 52-56 ADHGB), conclusion of contracts (Art. 317-323 ADHGB), fulfillment (Art. 324-336 ADHGB) and sales contracts (Art. 337 -359 ADHGB), which should represent a "guiding template" for the later BGB.

Evaluation and criticism

For Levin Goldschmidt , the ADHGB was the "most thorough and best of the existing European commercial codes".

See also

literature

General

  • Christoph Bergfeld: Prussia and the General German Commercial Code . In: Ius Commune , Volume XIV (1987), pp. 101-114.
  • Gero Fuchs: The Political Significance of the General German Commercial Code in the 19th Century . In: Bonner Rechtsjournal (FRJ), 2013, 13.
  • Karsten Schmidt: Where from - where to? ADHGB, HGB and the reflection on the idea of ​​codification . In: Journal for the whole of commercial law and business law (ZHR), 161 (1997), 2.
  • Wolfgang Schön: Development and perspectives of commercial accounting law - from ADHGB to IASC . In: Journal for the entire commercial law and business law (ZHR) , 161, 133-159.

Special

  • Diethard Bühler: The emergence of the general contract conclusion regulations in the General German Commercial Code (ADHGB) from 1861. A contribution to the codification history of private law in the 19th century . Frankfurt am Main 1999.
  • Carsten Engler: The limited partnership (KG) and the silent partnership in the General German Commercial Code (ADHGB) from 1861 . Frankfurt am Main 1999.
  • Ralf Heimann: The development of commercial law publication from ALR to ADHGB . Berlin 2008.
  • Jörg Hofmeister: The development of the change of shareholders in the law of partnerships from ALR to ADHGB . Berlin 2002.
  • Friedrich Benedict Heyn: The development of the rail freight law from the beginning to the introduction of the General German Commercial Code (ADHGB) . Frankfurt am Main 1996.
  • Albert Schnelle: Bremen and the emergence of the general German commercial code: 1856–1864 . Bremen 1992.
  • Rüdiger Servos: The commercial partnerships and the silent society in the codifications and draft codifications from ALR to ADHGB . Cologne 1984.
  • Daniel Spindler: Fair value accounting according to ADHGB of 1861 and according to IAS-IFRS. an empirical analysis from an investor's point of view . Star Field 2005.

Web links

Wikisource: General German Commercial Code. June 5, 1869  - Sources and full texts
Wikisource: Introductory Act, June 5, 1869  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Viktor Ring: The Commercial Code for the German Empire . Berlin 1902.
  2. ↑ Karsten Schmidt. In: Karsten Schmidt: Munich Commentary on the Commercial Code . 3. Edition. Munich 2010, preliminary remarks on § 1 margin no. 21st
  3. ↑ Hartmut Oetker. In: Claus-Wilhelm Canaris, Mathias Habersack, Carsten Schäfer (eds.): Staub HGB . 5th edition. Volume 1, 2009, introduction margin no. 2.
  4. ^ Christoph Bergfeld: Prussia and the General German Commercial Code . In: Ius Commune , Volume XIV (1987), p. 101 (104).
  5. ↑ Thomas Henne: Commercial Code . In: Albrecht Cordes , Heiner Lück , Dieter Werkmüller (Eds.): Concise dictionary on German legal history . HRGdigital.de/HRG.handelsgesetzbuch.igital (November 21, 2015).
  6. ^ Theodor Baums: Draft of a general commercial code for Germany (1848/1849) . Heidelberg 1982, p. 59 ff .; Draft of a general commercial code for Germany, Frankfurt aM 1849.
  7. ^ Christoph Bergfeld: Prussia and the General German Commercial Code . In: Ius Commune , Volume XIV (1987), p. 101 (107) fn. 9.
  8. ↑ Ibid., P. 101 (108).
  9. ↑ Ibid. P. 101 (109).
  10. ↑ See only Karsten Schmidt. In: Karsten Schmidt: Munich Commentary on the Commercial Code . 3. Edition. Munich 2010, preliminary remarks on § 1 margin no. 21st
  11. ^ Christoph Bergfeld: Prussia and the General German Commercial Code . In: Ius Commune , Volume XIV (1987), p. 101 (110).
  12. ↑ Ibid., P. 101 (108 f.).
  13. ^ Gerhard Köbler: German legal history - a systematic floor plan . 6th edition. Munich 2005, p. 188 f.
  14. ↑ Hartmut Oetker. In: Claus-Wilhelm Canaris, Mathias Habersack, Carsten Schäfer (eds.): Staub HGB . 5th edition. Volume 1, 2009, introduction margin no. 5.
  15. ^ Christoph Bergfeld: Prussia and the General German Commercial Code . In: Ius Commune , Volume XIV (1987), p. 101 (113).
  16. ↑ General German Commercial Code . 5 June 1869 . ( Wikisource )
  17. ↑ RGBl. 1871, p. 63; for the Kingdom of Bavaria this was ordered by the law of April 22, 1871, RGBl. 1871, p. 63.
  18. ↑ Beginning with the 1st introductory ordinance (GBlÖ 1938/100) - announcement by the Reichsstatthalters , whereby the 1st ordinance for the introduction of commercial regulations in Austria of April 11, 1938 is announced.
  19. ↑ Announcement of October 21, 1997 of the General German Commercial Code, LGBl. 1997 No. 193 . The ADHGB was originally announced by the law of September 16, 1865 regarding the introduction of the general German commercial code in the Principality of Liechtenstein, LGBl. 10/1865
  20. ^ Elisabeth Berger: Reception in Liechtenstein private law with special consideration of the ABGB . 2nd Edition. Vienna 2011, p. 65.
  21. ↑ Thomas Henne: Commercial Code . In: Albrecht Cordes, Heiner Lück, Dieter Werkmüller (Eds.): Concise dictionary on German legal history . HRGdigital.de/HRG.handelsgesetzbuch.igital (November 21, 2015).
  22. ↑ Hartmut Oetker. In: Claus-Wilhelm Canaris, Mathias Habersack, Carsten Schäfer (eds.): Staub HGB . 5th edition. Volume 1, 2009, margin no. 6th
  23. ^ Levin Goldschmidt quoted from Karl-Otto Scherner: Handelsrecht . In: Albrecht Cordes, Heiner Lück, Dieter Werkmüller (Eds.): Concise dictionary on German legal history . HRGdigital.de/HRG.handelsrecht (November 21, 2015).