Department of Eastern Law Research at the University of Hamburg

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The department for Eastern law research, originally established in 1953 as part of the seminar for German and Nordic legal history of the Faculty of Law at the University of Hamburg , is the oldest of a series of similar foundations in the 1950s and 1960s. B. at the University of Kiel and the University of Cologne , which deal with the law of Eastern Europe. The Department of Ostrechtsforschung was 1953-2008 part of the Faculty of Law of the University of Hamburg

history

Founding and expansion from 1953

From 1953 Georg Geilke headed the Eastern Law Research department he founded until his death in 1985. In 1969 he qualified as a professor and in 1970 was appointed professor. He built an extensive library practically from scratch. Until the 1980s it comprised over 30,000 units. Because of the size of this library, the department's rooms outside the main building in Schlüterstraße were initially in Moorweidenstraße. 15, and later until 2006 in Moorweidenstr. 18 at home. He also founded the scientific newspaper WGO monthly for Eastern European law, which became one of the central media in the field. His personal expertise mainly concerned the Soviet Union and Poland - also due to his studies in Wroclaw during the war.

Turnaround and post-turnaround period from 1985

Günther Tontsch began his work in 1984, where he was mainly responsible for editing the WGO monthly publications for Eastern European Law, which he continued until his death in 2007. He expanded the specialist focus of the department to include the countries of the Balkans as well as Hungary and Romania. In 1985 he took over the management of the department and solved three major challenges here in times of budget cuts at the end of the 1980s. On the one hand, he provided the financing of the magazine and the department through the advertising of third-party funds and the like. a. permanently secure thanks to the VW Foundation , and in the midst of the confusing situation surrounding the revolutions and the founding of states in Eastern Europe between 1989 and 1991, he also managed to maintain an overview of the technical situation, and finally he succeeded in getting the vacant professorship from Georg Geilke filled - without, however, himself To have ambitions on the spot. In 1985 Otto Luchterhandt, who knew Tontsch from a time together in Cologne, was interested in succeeding Georg Geilke. The position was not finally approved by the university until 1991 after many years of effort by Günther H. Tontsch and Otto Luchterhandt finally got the position.

Closure of the department in 2008

The framework conditions could hardly have been better in 1991 for the topic of Eastern law: The investments of the economy in Eastern Europe quadrupled in the 1990s, every year after the fall of the iron curtain approx. 1 million immigrants poured into Germany - mainly from Eastern Europe. Thus there was at the same time a high level of interest in the subject from business, numerous scientific talents who came to Germany and German courts needed a lot of information, e.g. B. on inheritance, divorce and maintenance law in the home country of the numerous immigrants. However, the expectations of a revival of teaching and research associated with the new appointment remained largely unfulfilled. As a result, despite the favorable framework conditions, the department began to gradually decline in importance in the mid-1990s. When Günther H. Tontsch died in 2007 after a brief, serious illness, there was no one to continue the magazine. Without the central scientific publication and the associated funding of the department, the university ultimately had no choice but to close the department in 2008.

Time after the closure

As early as 2006, the department and library were moved to the legal building at Rothenbaumchaussee 33 and integrated into the existing inventory where it is still located today. Otto Luchterhandt's professorship remained at the university after the department was closed until his retirement and was then not filled again.

Research and publications

Library

In addition to the size and thematic breadth, the importance of the library lay primarily in the central catalog for Eastern European literature that was built there. In 1966 it was even declared the central information point for all countries of the Council of Europe.

WGO monthly booklet for Eastern European law

The contents of the scientific journal were the most important legislative acts in the countries of Eastern and Southeastern Europe and in the East Asian People's Democrats. It was published every two months from 1958 and was discontinued in 2007. Over the decades it was u. a. financially supported by the Robert Bosch Foundation , the Fritz Thyssen Foundation , the Hamburg Scientific Foundation and the Edmund Siemers Foundation. In times of the Cold War, the exchange of copies of this magazine for books from all over Eastern Europe made it possible to supply the library with important works without one of the exchanging parties having to use funds.

Selection of important publications by employees of the Eastern Law Research department

  • The Citizenship Law of the Soviet Union - Georg Geilke 1964
  • Introduction to Soviet Law - Georg Geilke 1966
  • The Polish Penal Code - Georg Geilke 1969
  • Introduction to the Law of the Bulgarian People's Republic - Georg Geilke and Christa Jessel-Holst 1974
  • The relationship between party and state in Romania: continuity and change - Günther H. Tontsch 1985
  • The protection of minorities in Hungary and Romania - Georg Brunner and Günther H. Tontsch 1995
  • National minorities and loyalty - Otto Luchterhand 1997
  • Labor Law In Hungary Guide Paperback - Magdalena Pajor-Bytomski 1998

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Carmen Schmidt: Research on Eastern Law in Germany. Retrieved June 20, 2019 .
  2. ^ University of Hamburg: Directory of persons. Retrieved June 22, 2019 .
  3. ^ University of Hamburg: Law - Personal directory. Retrieved June 22, 2019 .
  4. ↑ Barbara DIETZ, Alexander PROTSENKO, Volkhart VINCENTZ: Direct investments in Eastern Europe and their effects on the labor market in Germany. OSTEUROPA-INSTITUT MÜNCHEN, February 2001, accessed on June 21, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Statista: Number of immigrants to Germany from 1991 to 2017. Accessed on June 21, 2019 .
  6. ↑ EconBiz: WGO: Monthly Issues for Eastern European Law: the most important legislative acts in the countries of Eastern and Southeastern Europe. Retrieved June 21, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Organizing Committee of the Council of Europe: Decision of the Organizing Committee of the Council of Europe to coordinate research on Eastern Europe of December 8, 1966 . In: Bulletin on Eastern European Studies . tape 1 , no. 19 , 1968.