Klaus Hopt

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Klaus Jürgen Hopt (born August 24, 1940 in Tuttlingen ) is a German lawyer and a prominent representative of German business law .

Scientific career

From 1959 Klaus J. Hopt studied law, economics and political science in Munich , Tübingen , Bilbao , Paris and New York . After a doctorate to Dr. iur. 1967 ("Compensation from unjustified initiation of proceedings. A comparative legal investigation to protect against unjustified claims against state proceedings") and to the Dr. phil. In 1968 ("The Third Power as a Political Factor. A Case Study on the Reform of Constituency Division in the USA.") He completed his habilitation in 1973 at the University of Munich with a thesis on investor protection in banking law. From 1974 to 1978 Hopt was professor at the University of Tübingen, 1978 to 1980 at the European University in Florence , 1980 to 1985 again in Tübingen, from 1985 to 1987 at the University of Bern and from 1987 to 1995 at the University of Munich. From 1995 until his retirement in 2008, Klaus J. Hopt was Director at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg .

Hopt's students are Christoph Kumpan , Peter O. Mülbert , Stefan Grundmann , Hanno Merkt , Marina Wellenhofer , Harald Baum, Brigitte Haar , Jan von Hein , Heike Schweitzer , Thomas von Hippel and Markus Roth .

Visiting professorships

Klaus Hopt was visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia / USA in 1979 and at the European University in Florence / Italy in 1981 and 1983. In 1987 he was visiting professor at the University of Paris I ( Sorbonne ) and in 1988 at the University of Kyoto in Japan. 1989/1990 he was visiting professor at the Univ. Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium and in 1991 at the University of Geneva and the University of Tokyo . This was followed by a visiting professorship at the University of Chicago in 1994 . He was visiting professor at New York University (Global Faculty) / USA in 1999 and 2006 and at Harvard University in 2002 . In 2002/2003 he was visiting professor at the Anton Philips Chair Tilburg Universiteit in the Netherlands. In 2003, 2004 and 2005 he was visiting professor at the University of Paris II (Panthéon-Assas) , 2007 and 2008 at the University of Rome (LUISS) and in 2008 at the University of Lisbon.

He has been a member of the International Faculty for Corporate and Capital Market Law since 1975.

Hopt is the publisher and author of various standard works, including a commentary on the Commercial Code (HGB), and the author of over 300 articles on German and European commercial, corporate, banking, stock exchange and business law.

Other activities

In addition to his academic work, Klaus J. Hopt is and was active in a variety of ways.

From 1981 to 1985 he was a judge at the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court . From 1995 to 2001 he was a member of the former Takeover Commission; since 2002, he has been a member of the takeover advisory board formed in accordance with Section 5 of the Securities Acquisition and Takeover Act (WpÜG) at the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority , which has replaced the takeover commission. Since 2000, Hopt has been a member of the deputation of the German Lawyers' Association (DJT). In addition, from 2001 to 2002 he was a member of the High Level Group of Company Law Experts advising the European Commission in Brussels. In 2002, Hopt was chairman of the business law department (investor protection) of the 64th DJT in Berlin. Since 2002 he has been a member of the Stock Exchange Expert Commission and was also Vice President of the German Research Foundation from 2002 to 2008 . From 2003 to 2006 he was Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Max Planck Society and from 2003 to 2005 as a member of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Börse AG . In 2004 he was deputy chairman of the old-age provision department of the 65th DJT in Bonn and in 2008 he was chairman of the commercial law department (stock exchange company law) of the 67th DJT in Erfurt.

In addition, he was an expert for the German Bundestag (Legal Committee, Committee on Economics, Finance Committee, Committee on Transport, Building and Housing), before the Federal Constitutional Court , for the Federal Ministry of Finance , the Federal Ministry of Justice , the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology , for the Bundesbank , the European Commission, the Bank for International Settlements, for Bulgaria and the World Bank .

Together with his wife, Klaus J. Hopt established the Hopt-Nguyen Foundation in 1996 , which serves both charitable and scientific purposes. Various projects in Vietnam were funded , including day centers and homes for the disabled as well as a development program for vocational training for young girls and women.

Honors and memberships

Works (selection)

  • Baumbach / Hopt, Commercial Code with GmbH & Co., commercial clauses, banking and stock exchange law, transport law (excluding maritime law) , 39th edition 2020 ISBN 978-3-406-73894-4 .
  • Hopt (Ed.), Book of Contracts and Forms on Commercial, Company and Banking Law , 4th edition 2013 ISBN 978-3-406-58301-8 .
  • Hommelhoff / Hopt / v. Werder (Ed.): Handbuch Corporate Governance , 2nd edition 2010, ISBN 978-3-7910-2596-4 .
  • Hopt / Wohlmannstetter (ed.): Handbuch Corporate Governance von Banken , 2011, ISBN 978-3-8006-3865-9 .
  • Hopt / Wymeersch / Kanda / Baum (eds.): Corporate Governance in Context: Corporations, States, and Markets in Europe, Japan, and the US , 2005, ISBN 978-0199290703 .
  • Hopt, Handelsvertreterrecht , 4th edition. 2009 ISBN 978-3-406-59019-1 .
  • Hopt, The Responsibility of Banks in Issues , 1991 ISBN 978-3-406-35223-2 .
  • Hopt, Investor Protection in the Law of Banks (Habilitation Thesis), 1982 ISBN 978-3-406-04219-5 .
  • Hopt / Hehl, corporate law , 4th edition 1996 ISBN 978-3-406-37333-6 .
  • Hopt / Mössle, Commercial and Corporate Law , 2nd edition 1999 ISBN 978-3-406-40308-8 .

Web links

proof

  1. On the foundation's activities : "Thinking and acting beyond borders", interview with Klaus J. Hopt, in: Stiftung & Sponsoring 2/2007, pp. 6, 8.
  2. Member entry by Prof. Dr. Dr. Klaus J. Hopt (with picture and CV) at the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina , accessed on July 15, 2016.