Law

Rudolf von Jhering (1818-1892) was one of the leading Roman lawyers in nineteenth century Germany and famously developed a sophisticated methodology for the »Begriffsjurisprudenz« (conceptual jurisprudence) of his time. At mid-career, however, he turned to a sociological and instrumentalist jurisprudence and shaped twentieth century legal thought in Germany and beyond, especially in the United States.

In its 1981 landmark decision on expropriation (the so-called "Nassauskiesungsbeschluss“), the German Federal Constitutional Court sparked a doctrinal development that resulted in a strictly formal concept of expropriation. Interference with property that it does not aim to procure is considered a regulatory measure and falls outside its scope. As opposed to expropriation, there is no constitutional requirement that necessitates compensation. The author challenges this view, providing a counternarrative of the right to property which is based on the wording of the German Basic Law and on the norms of international and European law as well as on comparative law considerations.

In a modern economy characterized by a division of labor and constant change, contracts and declarations of intent that require subsequent completion can hardly be dispensed with. Despite their many forms, such »blank« instruments raise very similar legal issues. Tim Robers addresses these issues on the basis of the general legal rules.

As one of three borrowing authorisations of the debt brake (Schuldenbremse), the cyclical component allows and requires borrowing and repayment depending on overall economic development. Manuel Ackermann examines how it has realigned fiscal policy since the 1960s and made it verifiable for the first time.