Fritz Schulz (lawyer)

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Fritz Schulz (born June 16, 1879 in Bunzlau ; † November 12, 1957 in Oxford ) was a German lawyer and legal historian. He was a leading exponent of the science of Roman law (legal Romance studies ) of his time. In 1939 he had to emigrate from Germany due to his Jewish origins and his political views.

Life

Schulz was born in Bolesławiec in Silesia (today: Bolesławiec), where he also spent his youth. His father was a Protestant. His mother came from a Jewish family and converted to Christianity when Fritz Schulz was a child.

Between 1899 and 1902 Schulz studied law in Berlin and Breslau until his first state examination in law . In 1905 he received his doctorate at the University of Wroclaw with the work on enrichment law The actiones in id quod pervenit and in quantum locupletior factus est . In the same year the habilitation followed at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg .

In 1909 Schulz received offers from the universities of Jena and Innsbruck. After he had already decided on Jena, Schulz finally went to Innsbruck because he was promised that he would soon be promoted to full professor there . In fact, Schulz became a full professor of Roman law in Innsbruck as early as 1910 . In the following years he followed other calls: in 1912 to the University of Kiel , 1916 to the University of Göttingen and 1923 to the University of Bonn . During his time in Göttingen, Fritz Schulz joined the left-wing liberal German Democratic Party and was committed to the democratic Weimar Republic. In 1928 he turned down an offer to Vienna.

In 1931 Fritz Schulz accepted a position at the Berlin University . The appointment to the Berlin University was seen as the culmination of an academic career.

When the Nazis came to power in Germany, Schulz's career was abruptly cut short at its peak. First he was forcibly transferred to the University of Frankfurt am Main in 1934 . Forced retirement followed in 1935. A similar fate suffered under the full-time professors of the Berlin faculty James Goldschmidt , Ernst Rabel , Martin Wolff and Arthur Nussbaum , the honorary professors Max Alsberg and Julius Flechtheim , the student of Rabel and private lecturer Max Rheinstein and the assistant professor Julius Magnus , a successful lawyer and long-time editor the legal weekly journal (JW).

Despite the destruction of his professional existence, Schulz stayed in Germany until 1939. Only that year did he emigrate, first to the Netherlands and finally to Oxford. He survived the war years thanks to financial support from various institutions including Oxford University Press and the Rockefeller Foundation . In 1947 he became a British citizen.

Schulz did not settle again in Germany after the war, but gave guest lectures at German universities. In 1949 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Frankfurt am Main. In 1951 he was appointed honorary professor at the University of Bonn. In 1952 he became a member of the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome.

His student Werner Flume became one of the most important lawyers of the second half of the 20th century.

Scientific impact

Fritz Schulz is best known for his work on Roman law and the history of Roman law. In addition, there is his best-known work on applicable law, the monograph System of Rights on Acquisition of Interferences , which takes up an entire volume of the AcP . This book influences the scientific discussion about the right to enrichment to this day.

Works

  • System of rights to the acquisition of interference, in: AcP 105 (1909), p. 1 ff .;
  • Introduction to the study of digests, Tübingen 1916;
  • Principles of Roman Law, Berlin 1934; engl. Translation: Principles of Roman Law, Oxford 1936;
  • Classical Roman Law, Oxford 1951;
  • History of Roman Legal Science, Oxford 1946; German: History of Roman Law, Weimar 1961.

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Schulz, Fritz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German legal scholar
DATE OF BIRTH June 16, 1879
PLACE OF BIRTH Bunzlau
DATE OF DEATH November 12, 1957
Place of death Oxford