Württemberg state law
The Württemberg Land Law is a codification of procedural and civil law for the Duchy of Württemberg in the 16th century.
Starting position
The initiative to create a land law for Württemberg came from the state estates at the beginning of the 16th century . Until then, almost every office in the Duchy of Württemberg had its own private law . Increasing mobility and the increase in the number of lawyers who on Roman law were trained, exercised considerable pressure in terms of a unification of the law. The estates initially demanded measures to defend against this development in order to preserve the ancestral rights. This was also promised to them by Duke Ulrich in a side farewell to the Tübingen Treaty of 1514 . But the project was only realized under his son, Duke Christoph .
First land law
The estates formed a commission that first gathered the local customs and rights by asking the authorities and cities to send in reports on the law applicable there. In particular, marital property law and inheritance law were collected in this way. However, the result was so heterogeneous that the commission felt overwhelmed by the task of using the knowledge gained in this way to form a uniform land law. Rather, she now asked the Duke to have a small number of learned lawyers work out a land law without regard to local rights. The work dragged on until 1553, when the Böblinger Landtag approved the draft presented there. This resulted in the first version of the Württemberg land law, published in 1555, which was also confirmed by Emperor Charles V in the same year .
The legal unity of the Württemberg land law was achieved through the abandonment of the previous, small-scale private legal system, the adoption of Roman law and an extensive reorganization of the previously applicable law. In cases of doubt, common law was given priority.
The toughest resistance was from the University of Tübingen . The university relied on its right to be able to legislate itself and it managed to enforce its own inheritance rules for a long time.
content
The Württemberg Land Law is divided into four parts:
- Litigation : The main authors were Ulrich Rucker , Caspar Beer , Caspar Volland and Johann Sichard . In terms of content, it is based on the Tübingen city law from 1493, the Freiburg city law from 1520, the Mainz sub-court order from 1534 and the second Württemberg court order from 1514.
- Contract law , lien and property law : Ulrich Rucker was the sole editor. In terms of content, it was based predominantly and partially verbatim on the Freiburg city law of 1520 and, to a lesser extent, on the Worms Reformation of 1498.
- last will : the author is Caspar Beer. The text is largely written independently, with minor traces that refer to the Tübingen city law.
- Intestate inheritance : The author is Caspar Beer here too. The text is largely written independently with only minor traces that refer to the Freiburg city law.
Systematic edits and comments on Württemberg land law appeared from the turn of the 19th century.
Further development
Due to obvious deficiencies in the intestate inheritance law of the spouses, the fourth part was revised and the land law was republished in 1567 with an amended fourth part, the so-called second land law .
The revision was not enough. Again, complaints were loud, especially about regulations of inheritance law and matrimonial property law. In 1583 the state parliament demanded a new revision. However, it dragged on for a long time. The changes were more extensive this time and were published in 1610 as the so-called Third Land Law .
In the period that followed, there were repeated attempts to create a fourth land law. None was successful. Overall, the Württemberg Land Law remained the basis of private law until the Civil Code came into force on January 1, 1900, also in the Kingdom of Württemberg . In the course of the 19th century, however, individual parts were replaced by modern codifications, for example by the Civil Procedure Code of 1868.
Impact history
The Württemberg land law developed a considerable effect beyond the borders of the duchy. The Palatinate Land Law of 1582 literally adopted a lot of the Württemberg Land Law. The land law of the Margraviate of Baden-Baden from 1588 is identical to the second Württemberg state law with a few exceptions, but supplemented by a guardianship order and a fifth part, which contains criminal law . The Württemberg land law was the source for the Solms land law of 1571, the Frankfurt Reformation of 1578 and other codifications of reception.
literature
- H.-W. Thümmel: Württemberg Land Law . In: Concise Dictionary of German Legal History , Vol. 5. Erich Schmidt, Berlin 1998. ISBN 3 503 00015 1 , Sp. 1573–1580.