Franz Georg von Keeß

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Knight Franz Georg von Keeß (born January 11, 1747 in Vienna , † August 6, 1799 in Brunn am Gebirge ) was an Austrian lawyer.

Life

Commentary on Joseph the Second General Judicial Order , 1789

Franz Georg von Keeß came from a Swabian noble family, from his grandfather Johann Georg von Keeß (1673-1754), born in Tettnang, 1693 came and to Vienna as a Doctor of Laws , professor of Canon Law at the University of Vienna was teaching, there was 1727/28 he was rector of the law faculty; In 1725 he was appointed to the Kommerzienrat and in 1732 he was given the post of Landschreiber in Lower Austria .

Franz Georg von Keeß was the eldest son of Franz Bernhard von Keeß (born November 11, 1720; † December 30, 1795 in Brunn am Gebirge), privy councilor and vice-president of the Lower Austrian Court of Appeal and his first wife Regina, nee. from Wallner; In 1764 Maria Theresa gave his father the knighthood of all hereditary lands and the Holy Roman Empire because of his merits.

In 1768 he finished his legal studies at the University of Vienna and entered the civil service as an unpaid district administrator. In 1770 he was appointed to the council of the Lower Austrian government and in 1774 he was appointed court commissioner to the Illyrian deputation , which ruled the kingdom of Illyria from Vienna. Through his activities, the kingdom was divided into the kingdoms of Croatia and Slavonia and the Venetian Dalmatia at the end of December 1777 . so that the deputation could be dissolved. He was then transferred to the Hungarian court chancellery as a councilor and from there to the highest judicial office. Because of his knowledge of the law, Maria Theresa entrusted him with the most important tasks; her son, Joseph II , appointed him advisor to the Compilation Court Commission, which later became the Court Commission on Legislative Matters, in which he had significant influence in the deliberations on the existing criminal and civil code; however, he remained in the highest judicial office.

His tasks included, among other things, the general tax system in disputes, the regulation of courts of law, the introduction of appellate courts, the instructions for the tax offices, the regulation of the mountain courts , the introduction of the land table in Upper Austria , which then served as a model for the areas in who still lacked land boards, the Tyrolean inheritance tax and the principles for regulating the magistrates in the countryside.

In his work General Code of Crimes and the Same Punishment , he divided crimes into classes and thus gave a judge a certain point of reference and an easier overview, in addition, he wrote an instruction for the political authorities about their behavior in political offenses and a draft the system of regulation of criminal courts; its General Criminal Court Code is basically the first modern code of criminal procedure.

His commentary on Joseph II's general court system was also trend- setting .

Franz Georg von Keeß was married to Ernestina (born January 24, 1754 - March 10, 1801 in Vienna), daughter of Raimund Albrecht von Albrechtsburg , together they had twelve children, of which they reached adulthood:

  • Ignaz von Keeß (born October 4, 1771 in Vienna, † 1817 ibid.), Decree of the Lower Austrian knighthood;
  • Stephan von Keeß (born October 31, 1774 in Vienna, † June 13, 1840 ibid), director of the Technical Cabinet in Vienna;
  • Georg von Keeß (born October 2, 1782, † June 4, 1826 in Budapest); Farmer;
  • Ernst von Keeß (born October 20, 1783; † December 6, 1824), Rittmeister ;
  • Maria Anna Franziska von Keeß (October 4, 1773 in Vienna; † July 10, 1842 ibid) married to Freiherr Johann von Bartenstein (1771–1843), Lower Austrian government councilor and city ​​governor .
Gravestone at the parish church of Brunn

Franz Georg von Keeß was buried in Brunn am Gebirge and a tombstone was set up at the parish church Brunn am Gebirge with the following inscription:

To the unforgettable human friend,

To the unforgettable human friend,
the steadfast defender, of truth and justice.
To the excellent statesman
in the field of legislation.
Worthy of the princes under whom he worked,
Franz Georg Edlen von Keeß,
kk Hofrathe in the judicial field,
knight of the Order of St. Stephen,
kk Truchsesse, Lower Austrian country estate,
born January 11, 1747, died August 6, 1799.
His children.

Awards and honors

  • Emperor Joseph II awarded him the Knight's Cross of the Order of St. Stephen after he steadfastly defended his contrary opinion of the emperor and those of the other conference participants in a conference that was held under the chairmanship of the emperor . Archduke Franz Karl owned a painting depicting the act when Joseph II presented Hofrat Keeß with the Order of St. Stephen. Under the painting, the inscription Emperor Joseph II was rewarded with the Order of St. Stephen, the noble frankness of the Councilor von Kreß, who, true to duty and truth, himself voted against the Emperor on a significant matter and maintained his vote male against the majority of the assembled council appropriate.
  • Franz II continued to grant him the annual allowance of 2,000 guilders in addition to his salary as councilor, which Joseph II had already announced in the past .
  • Franz Georg von Keeß had been appointed Truchseß .

Fonts (selection)

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Johann Georg von Keeß. In: University of Vienna - people. Retrieved April 23, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Ettore Dezza: History of the Criminal Procedure Law in the Early Modern Age: An Introduction. S. 135. 2017, accessed April 23, 2019 .
  3. ↑ Court and State Schematism of the Roman Emperors. also kaiserl.-königl. and the archducal capital and residence city of Vienna: its highest and highest immediate court positions, charges and dignities, lower colleges, instances and expeditions, 1796 . S. 336. Gerold, 1796 ( google.de [accessed April 23, 2019]).
personal data
SURNAME Keeß, Franz Georg von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Keess, Franz von; Keess, Franz Georg von; Kees, Franz Georg von; Kress, Franz Georg von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian lawyer
DATE OF BIRTH January 11, 1747
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH August 6, 1799
Place of death Brunn am Gebirge