Hans Kelsen

Hans Kelsen Werke

Hans Kelsen (1881–1973): 1906 Promotion; 1911 Habilitation; 1919–30 Universitätsprofessor in Wien; 1919–30 Mitglied des VfGH; 1930–33 Professor in Köln; 1933–40 Professor in Genf; 1936–38 Professor in Prag; 1945–52 Professor in Berkeley

Herausgegeben von Matthias Jestaedt, in Kooperation mit dem Hans Kelsen-Institut

Hans Kelsen (1881-1973) was said to be the most consistent, innovative and influential legal positivist.  Born in Prague, he grew up in Vienna, where he worked as a university professor and a judge of the constitutional court before leaving Nazi Germany in 1993 for Switzerland and then emigrating to the USA.  His fame and his reputation as the "leading jurist of the time" are based primarily on his ground-breaking works on legal theory, which created a furor under the name "Pure Theory of Law." However he also made a lasting and innovative contribution  as a teacher of constitutional law and international law, a political theorist and a legal sociologist.