The re-discovery of Weimar by part of the doctrine of Public Law in the Federal Republic of Germany

Authors

  • Oliver Lepsius Universidad de Bayreuth

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17811/hc.v0i9.152

Keywords:

Constitutional Law, Germany, Intellectual History, Constitutional Theory, State (Intellectual Discourse), Kelsen, Hans, Schmitt, Carl.

Abstract

The Weimar Republic witnessed four giants in constitutional theory: Carl Schmitt, Rudolf Smend, Hermann Heller and Hans Kelsen. Each of them saw the nexus of state and constitution differently. Their discussion ended with the Nazi's seizure of power. The article analyzes their enduring influence on German constitutional law and theory. At the beginning of the Federal Republic Schmitt and Smend prevailed and developed schools which influenced even the Federal Constitutional Court. 1968 brought a revival of Heller, and today Kelsen is dominating the scene. What accounts for these shifts? Why is in our days Kelsen apparently more attractive than Smend or Schmitt and what does this tell us about the development of German constitutional law? Lepsius' article tries to answer these questions and sheds a light on the major intellectual discussions and there theoretical underpinnings in German constitutional law from the 1950s to the 1990s.

Submission date: 07/01/2008
Acceptance date: 15/03/2008

Author Biography

Oliver Lepsius, Universidad de Bayreuth

Es Catedrático de Derecho Público y Teoría del Estado general y comparada en la Universidad bávara de Bayreuth desde 2002. Discípulo de Peter Lerche, estudió en las Universidades de Bonn, Munich y Chicago (LL.M. 1993), accediendo a la Cátedra de Derecho Público de Heidelberg en 2001. Ha sido investigador y docente en las Facultades de Derecho de las Universidades de Chicago, Michigan y Birmingham. Cofundador con Mathias Jestaedt (Universidad de Erlangen) del Intradisziplinären Forums Franken, sus investigaciones se orientan preferentemente a los fundamentos del Derecho público (problemas de interdisciplinariedad y análisis comparados, así como fundamentos teóricos, filosóficos e históricos de la disciplina). Entre sus numerosas publicaciones pueden mencionarse los libros Besitz und Sachherrschaft im öffentlichen Recht (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2002) y Die gegensatzaufhebende Begriffsbildung. Methodenentwicklungen in der Weimarer Republik und ihr Verhältnis zur Ideologisierung der Rechtswissenschaft im Nationalsozialismus (Munich, Beck, 1994), así como los artículos “Was kann die deutsche Staatsrechtslehre von der amerikanischen Rechtswissenschaft lernen?”, en H. Schulze-Fielitz (ed.), Staatsrechtslehre als Wissenschaft, Berlin 2007; “Risikosteuerung durch Verwaltungsrecht: Ermöglichung oder Begrenzung von Innovationen?”, en VVDStRL 63 (2004); y “Braucht das Verfassungsrecht eine Theorie des Staates?”, en EuGRZ 2004.

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Issue

No. 9 (2008): Historia Constitucional N. 9 (2008)

Section

Europe and United States of America

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