BOOK: Claudia EVERLING, Der Weg zur richtigen Strafe. Kontinuitäten und Diskontinuitäten in Fragen der Straftheorie, Strafarten und Strafzumessung im wissenschaftlichen Diskurs von 1919 bis 1945 [Kriminologische und sanktionsrechtliche Forschungen; 31] (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 2026), 314 p., ISBN 978-3-428-19693-7

 

 

 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

 

Im Mittelpunkt der Arbeit steht die wissenschaftliche Auseinandersetzung mit der Strafzumessung in der Weimarer Republik und im Nationalsozialismus. Die Strafzumessung war lange Zeit ein wenig berücksichtigtes Feld in der Strafrechtswissenschaft, obwohl viele grundsätzliche Theorien, z.B. zu Straftheorien oder zur Rolle des Ermessens, einen starken Einfluss auf die Bemessung der Strafe durch den Richter oder die Richterin haben. Anhand der vertretenen Straftheorien, der möglichen Strafarten, der Strafzumessungsgrundsätze und Strafzumessungstheorien untersucht die Arbeit, inwiefern die Kontinuitätsthese – also die Annahme, dass es durchgehende Entwicklungstendenzen in der Strafrechtswissenschaft des 20. Jahrhunderts gibt – auch für den größeren Bereich der Strafzumessung zutreffend ist und kommt zu dem Ergebnis, dass trotz aller Unterschiede in den Systemen und in der wissenschaftlichen Diskussion der Zeit die Tendenzen der Materialisierung, Ethisierung und Subjektivierung auch hier nachgezeichnet werden können. 

 

TABLE OF CONTENT:

 

1. Einleitung
Einführung in das Thema – Forschungsstand

2. Rechtsphilosophische Vorüberlegungen
Legitimation der Strafe – Kann es eine »richtige« Strafe geben?

3. Straftheorien
Überblick über die Straftheorien – Situation vor 1919 – Der Schulenstreit – Straftheorien in der Weimarer Republik – Straftheorien im Nationalsozialismus – Fazit

4. Strafarten
Strafarten in der Weimarer Republik – Strafarten im Nationalsozialismus

5. Strafzumessung
Strafrahmen – Strafzumessungsgrundsätze – Strafzumessungstheorien – Einflussfaktoren auf die Strafzumessung – Die Rolle des Richters

6. Kontinuitäten

7. Zusammenfassende Thesen

 

Find more here.  

BOOK: Sascha WOLF, Zwischen Autonomie und Verrechtlichung. Die Entstehungs- und Entwicklungsgeschichte der Prüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien vom Kaiserreich bis in die Gegenwart [Schriften zum Öffentlichen Recht; 1589] (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 2026), 453 p., ISBN 978-3-428-19769-9

 

 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

 

Die Studie untersucht die Entstehung und Entwicklung des repressiven Jugendmedienschutzes aus historischer und verfassungsrechtlicher Perspektive. Ausgehend vom Konflikt um die moderne Massenkultur im Kaiserreich wird erläutert, warum die Prüfstellen der Weimarer Republik infolge dieses Konflikts mit umfassender materiell-rechtlicher, ministerieller und judikativer Autonomie ausgestattet wurden. Anschließend wird die weitere Entwicklung unter dem Grundgesetz analysiert. Im Zuge der Verrechtlichung des Verwaltungsrechts wurde die Autonomie der Prüfstellen schrittweise aufgehoben. Maßgeblich hierfür waren die grundrechtliche Überlagerung und die Ausweitung der verwaltungsgerichtlichen Kontrolle.
Dabei gelang es jedoch nicht, die illiberale Grundtendenz des repressiven Jugendmedienschutzes aufzuheben. Der Autor schließt deshalb mit einem Plädoyer für ein Gebot der Staatsferne und fordert, die historische Perspektive stärker in die aktuelle Auseinandersetzung einzubeziehen.

 

TABLE OF CONTENT:

 

A. Einführung: Gegenstand, Ansatz und Aufbau der Untersuchung
Gegenstand: Die Geschichte der Prüfstelle und ihre verdrängten Wurzeln – Ansatz: Die entwicklungsgeschichtliche Perspektive auf die (Rest-)Autonomie – Aufbau: Die Strukturierung der Entstehungs- und Entwicklungsgeschichte

B. Kaiserreich: Die Entstehung und Prägung des Konflikts um die moderne Massenkultur:
Kultureller Wandel: Der Weg des Kaiserreichs in die Moderne – Lex Heinze: Der prägende Kampf um Massenkultur und Naturalismus – Die Schundkampfbewegung: Geboren aus den Trümmern der Lex-Heinze

C. Weimar: Die Errichtung und Auflösung autonomer Prüfstellen im Konflikt um die Massenkultur:
Rahmen: Der Einfluss des Schundkampfs auf die Verfassungsgebung – Gesetzgebungsprozess: Der lange Kampf um das Schund- und Schmutzgesetzes – Analyse: Die Rolle der Prüfstellenautonomie im Schund- und Schmutzgesetz – Kontrast: Die systematische Auflösung der Autonomie im Nationalsozialismus

D. Bonn: Die Fortführung des Weimarer Prüfstellenmodells durch die Legislative
Das GjS: Zwischen Restauration, Liberalisierung und verfassungsrechtlicher Anpassung – Das JuSchG: Die Überführung des Prüfstellenmodells ins 21. Jahrhundert – Nach den Novellen: Der aktuelle Entwicklungsstand der Prüfstelle

E. Verrechtlichung: Der Abbau der Prüfstellenautonomie durch die Judikative
Verfassungsrechtliche Weichenstellungen: Der Ausbau des Rechtsstaates – Materielle Autonomie: Die Überlagerung der Wertungsspielräume durch Grundrechte – Justizielle Autonomie: Die Verlagerung der Letztentscheidungsbefugnisse auf die Gerichte

F. Was bleibt: Die prekäre Lage der ministeriellen Prüfstellenautonomie
Rezeptionswandel: Die ministerielle Prüfstellenautonomie als Demokratieproblem – Ein Plädoyer für ein Gebot der Staatsferne des repressiven Jugendmedienschutzes

G. Schlussbetrachtung: Zwei Grunderkenntnisse der Untersuchung:
Die Gefahr verfassungsdogmatischer Perspektivverengungen und ihre Folgen – Die notwendige Erinnerung an die illiberale Grundtendenz des Schundkämpfererbes

 

Find more here. 

SEMINAR: Governare l'odio. Pace e giustizia criminale nell'Italia moderna (secoli XVI-XVIII) (Bologna: Università di Bologna, 15 APR 2026)

 

(Source: Storia del diritto)

REGISTRATION: Journées internationales de la Société d'histoire du droit et des institutions des pays flamands, picards et wallons: dirigeants et dirigés (Versailles: Musée Lambinet, 15-16 MAY 2026) [DEADLINE 5 MAY 2026]

(Election of the President of the French (Third) Republic in the Salle du Congrès, Versailles; source: Wikimedia Commons) 

Sixteen speakers are announced for the Journées internationales de la Société d'histoire du droit et des institutions des pays flamands, picards et wallons: dirigeants et dirigés, to be held in Versailles on 15 and 16 May 2026.

Invitation and registration form below:

Société d'histoire du droit et des institutions

des pays flamands, picards et wallons 

(fondée à Lille en 1929)

 

 

Journées internationales d'histoire du droit et des institutions

VersAILLES, les 15 et 16 mai 2026

 

À l’invitation de la présidente honoraire Catherine Lecomte, doyenne honoraire de la faculté de droit et de science politique de l’Université de Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines, les journées internationales d'histoire du droit et des institutions 2026 auront lieu cette année à Versailles, les 15 et 16  mai 2026, et auront pour thème général :

 

« Dirigeants et dirigés ».

 

Le sujet propose une réflexion sur les gouvernements à travers la personne de ses dirigeants, ses qualités attendues, ses modes de désignation, ses réseaux, ses limites personnelles et les garde-fous institutionnels. Le thème des Journées n’est pas en outre limité à une réflexion sur les seuls dirigeants politiques mais s’étend à l’étude des dirigeants d’autres organisations juridiquement constituées et productrices elles-mêmes d’une réglementation, comme les dirigeants militaires, municipaux, provinciaux, mais aussi les dirigeants spirituels (la direction de l’Église) ou économiques (les directions de sociétés). Enfin, le thème de la rencontre comprend aussi l’étude des dirigés, de leur adhésion à leurs dirigeants ou à l’inverse la manière dont ils s’expriment et s’organisent pour limiter leurs dérives.

 

Les séances de travail se dérouleront au musée Lambinet, situé 54, boulevard de la Reine.

 

Pour les déjeuners, nous nous rendrons dans un restaurant près du lieu des sessions.

 

Le vendredi, après les sessions, ainsi que le samedi, après l’assemblée générale clôturant le congrès, nous prévoyons une visite d’un haut lieu de Versailles. Les demandes et les démarches administratives sont en cours.

 

Le traditionnel dîner de la Société se déroulera le vendredi soir au centre-ville.

 

Les détails des lieux des déjeuners, du dîner et du banquet seront communiqués ultérieurement, lorsque le programme des sessions sera établi (l’appel à communications étant encore en cours, ledit programme ne peut pas encore être fixé).

 

Les frais d'inscription au congrès s'élèvent à 30 euros par participant(e) et comprennent la documentation et les pauses café ; la participation aux frais des déjeuners du vendredi midi et du samedi midi est fixée à 35 euros par personne par repas et la participation au dîner du vendredi soir à 60 euros par personne.

 

 

L’inscription se fait en envoyant le formulaire d’inscription avant le 5 mai 2026 par courriel à : tanguy.lemarchadour@univ-artois.fr.

 

Le numéro de compte bancaire sera ultérieurement envoyé aux inscrits pour leur permettre de régler par virement.

 

 

 

Le bureau de la Société,                                            

 

Le Président,                                                              Le Secrétaire Général,

Tanguy Le Marc’hadour                                  Christian PFISTER

 

Les Vice-Présidents,                                                 Le Trésorier,

Stanislas HORVAT                                                    Pascal HEPNER

Michael MILO                                  

 

	Société d'histoire du droit et des institutions des pays flamands, picards et wallons

 

 

 

Journées internationales d'histoire du droit et des institutions

VERsailles, 15-16/05/2026

 

FORMULAIRE D'INSCRIPTION / REGISTRATION FORM

 

À envoyer avant le 5 mai 2026 par courriel à : tanguy.lemarchadour@univ-artois.fr

To be sent before May 5^th, 2026 by e-mail at : tanguy.lemarchadour@univ-artois.fr

 

 

Monsieur/Mr – Madame/Mrs : ………………………………………………………………..

 

Adresse / Address :             ...………………………………………………………………………

                                   …………………………………………………………………...........

Portable / Cell phone:   …………………………………………………………………..……..

 

E-mail : ……………………………………………..

 

1° Droit d’inscription congrès / Registration fee Congress :      ……  x 30 €             Total :      .…. €

 

2° Lunch vendredi / Lunch Friday 15-05-2026                       

    Nombre de personnes / Number of persons :                            …… x 35 €               Total :      .…. €

 

3° Lunch samedi / Lunch Saturday 16-05-2026          

    Nombre de personnes / Number of persons :                            …… x 35 €               Total :      .…. €

 

4° Dîner vendredi soir / Dinner Friday evening (nombre limité / limited number)

    Nombre de personnes / Number of persons :                            …… x 60 €               Total :      .…. €

   

5° Total à payer / Total amount to be paid:                                                                   ..……... €

           

6° Visites / Visit :

le vendredi 15 mai / on Friday 15 May :

Participera / Will participate :                     OUI/YES – NON/NO

            Nombre de personnes / Number of persons :      ……

 

le samedi 16 mai / on Saturday 16 May :

            Participera / Will participate :                     OUI/YES – NON/NO

            Nombre de personnes / Number of persons :      ……

 

Payements au compte bancaire de la SOCIETE/ Payments on bank account of the SOCIETY :

IBAN _FR76 1670 6000 1416 5360 2370 606- BIC __AGRIFRPP867_____________

Au nom de / Account holder : _La société des amis de l’histoire en sud Artois__________________

 

Attention : Toute inscription donne lieu à l’obligation de paiement des frais

Be aware that registration leads to the obligation to pay the foreseen cost

BOOK: David ART, The Resilience of the Old Regime. Paths Around Democracy in Europe, 1832–1919 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2026), ISBN 9781009710718

 

(image source: CUP)

Abstract:

In The Resilience of the Old Regime, David Art reevaluates the so-called first wave of democratization in Western Europe through the lens of authoritarian resilience. He argues that non-democrats succeeded to a very large degree in managing, diverting, disrupting, and repressing democratic movements until the end of the First World War. This was true both in states political scientists have long considered either full democracies or democratic vanguards (such as the UK and Sweden), as well as in others (such as Germany and Italy) that appeared to be democratizing. He challenges both the Whiggish view that democracy in the West moved progressively forward, and the influential theory that threats of revolution explain democratization. Drawing on extensive historical sources and data, Art recasts European political development from 1832–1919 as a period in which competitive oligarchies and competitive authoritarian regimes predominated. Explores the core arguments of key theorists like Robert Dahl and Barrington Moore as they engage with European political history during the rise of mass politics Explains how archaic practices like plural voting and male-only voting were justified by liberals in supposedly democratizing regimes Provides a revision of this critical period of European political development through the frame of authoritarian persistence rather than the conventional-and sometimes misleading--- one of democratic triumph

On the author:

David Ar is Professor of Political Science at Tufts University. He is the author of The Politics of the Nazi Past in Germany and Austria (Cambridge, 2006) and Inside the Radical Right (Cambridge, 2011) and is a faculty affiliate at the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard University.

More information here. 

 

SEMINAR: La construcción del Estado en España (s. XVIII) (Barcelona: Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 8 APR 2026)

(image source: UPF Barcelona)

On 8 April, a seminar was held at Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona) on state formation in 18th century Spain. The program can be found below:

La Càtedra Josep Fontana de la Universitat Pompeu Fabra organitza la jornada “La construcción del Estado en España (s. XVIII)”, una sessió dedicada a analitzar els processos polítics, institucionals i administratius que van marcar la configuració de l’Estat a l’Espanya del segle XVIII.

La trobada comptarà amb la participació de destacats especialistes en història moderna:

 

§   Sergio Solbes, de la Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria: “Gobernar a través del suministro militar: el Contractor State y la provisión de uniformes para el ejército”

§   Francisco Andújar, de la Universitat d'Almeria: “Fisuras del Estado borbónico: venalidad y corrupción”

§   Joaquim Albareda, de la Universitat Pompeu Fabra: “Política y reformas del absolutismo borbónico”

La jornada vol oferir un espai de debat acadèmic sobre les reformes borbòniques, la centralització administrativa i les dinàmiques de poder que van contribuir a la construcció de l’Estat modern.

L’activitat es realitza amb la col·laboració de la Diputació de Barcelona.

L’activitat està oberta a la comunitat universitària i al públic interessat en la història política i institucional de l’Espanya moderna.

Data: 8 d’abril de 2026

Hora: 10.30 h

Lloc: Sala de graus A. Calsamiglia, Edifici Roger de Llúria, Campus de la Ciutadella (UPF)

💻 Les jornades es podran seguir en directe per streaming a través d’aquest enllaç:

👉 https://www.upf.edu/web/humanitats/streaming

JOURNAL: Revue de Synthèse CXLVI (2025), nr. 3-4

 

Histoire du droit des gens de la Renaissance à aujourd’hui (Gaëlle Demelestre) [OPEN ACCESS]
DOI 10.1163/19552343-14234090
First paragraph:

L’histoire du droit international connaît depuis les années 2010 un regain d’intérêt chez les historiens du droit et un développement florissant suite à l’impulsion donnée aux études juridiques critiques (Critical Legal Studies) par les ouvrages pionniers de Martti Koskenniemi1. Parler d’une histoire du droit international suffit à pointer le tournant méthodologique opéré par ces théoriciens dans l’approche de leur objet. Rompant avec la représentation du droit international comme d’un ensemble de principes normatifs autonomes et atemporels que le théoricien devrait dégager, ils privilégient l’examen de « l’évolution du droit international public et étudient la pratique des États, le développement des concepts et des théories juridiques donnés, et la vie et le travail de ses créateurs2  ». Pour les promoteurs du Tournant historique du droit international (Turn to history in international law), il s’agit de « conceptualiser les idéologies ou concepts juridiques dans l’environnement intellectuel, social et politique dans lequel ils ont opéré3  ».

La théorisation du ius gentium comme droit de la société civile du genre humain (Gaëlle Demelestre)
DOI 10.1163/19552343-14234084
Abstract:

The beginning of the 16th century was marked in Europe by a profound upheaval in the representation of man and the world. Faced with the questioning of the unity of the human race, scholars forged a new doctrine of ius gentium based on the thesis that men, although divided into nations, all come out of the civil society of the human race as members of humanity. Three innovations contribute to the thematization of the civil society of humankind as support of the law of nations, on which we will return successively: a juridical approach of the human race, the establishment of an instance capable of producing rules valid for all men and nations, and a reinscription of the plurality of nations in an open time and multiple spatiality, from which the new themes of global peace and stability emerge.

Ius gentium : la contribution des juristes humanistes à l’orée du XVIe siècle (Shingo Akimoto)
DOI 10.1163/19552343-14234081
Abstract:

Born in Antiquity and transformed during the Middle Ages, the law of nations took a decisive turn in the 16th century, when Spanish theologians, confronted with the conquest of the American continent, established it as a cornerstone of international law. However, while their influence on these theologians is acknowledged, the contribution of legal humanists – renovators of legal science – remains largely unknown. Our article seeks to fill this gap by exploring the reform initiated by Guillaume Budé, the first humanist to comment on the Digest. Drawing on Cicero’s philosophical ideas, Budé identified human reason as the sole source of law and redefined the medieval conception of the two laws of nations. German jurist Ulrich Zasius would later develop this perspective from a different angle. Thus, their work paved the way for a renewed philosophical reflection on the law of nations as a law of humanity.

Vitoria, Soto, and Suárez on totus orbis and the Secularization of ius gentium (Bart Wauters)
DOI  10.1163/19552343-14234089
Abstract:

This article presents an analysis of the doctrine produced by Spanish scholastic theologians on the relationship between ius gentium and natural law. It questions their writings to see to what extent it is possible to speak of a “secularized” concept of ius gentium. The article focuses on three key thinkers on this question, Francisco de Vitoria, Domingo de Soto, and Francisco Suárez, and places them within the relevant intellectual traditions of the 16th century, in particular, Thomist and Bartolist legal theories.

Le dominium et le ius dans l’œuvre de Francisco Suárez (Arnaud de Solminihac)
DOI  10.1163/19552343-14234087
Abstract:

This article explores the implications of Suárez’s new definition of law, and in particular his desire to make dominium an institution of the ius gentium. This approach determines the definition of this notion in Suárez’s work in relation to other authors such as Thomas Aquinas, Francisco de Vitoria and Domingo de Soto.

Le ius gentium de Francisco de Vitoria aux frontières américaines de l’Empire espagnol (1550-1610). L’ambivalente évolution d’un discours global de domination (José Luis Egío)
DOI 10.1163/19552343-14234085
Abstract:

This article focuses on how Francisco Vitoria’s Relectio de indis (1539) and, in particular, the titles of ius gentium with which he legitimised the conquests made by the Spaniards during the first fifty years of Iberian presence in the New World, were taken up by scholastic jurists and theologians in northern and southern America, particularly in Mexico and Chile. It shows how Vitoria’s ideas were used to justify new wars and campaigns to enslave indigenous populations, but also criticized, complemented by new punitive discourses against rebellion and apostasy, and, above all, adapted to the particular needs of local settlers.

A Protestant Ius Gentium? Ius Gentium According to Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Protestant Moral Theologians (Paolo Astorri)
DOI  
Abstract:

The development of early modern international law has often been credited to Protestant natural lawyers and early modern scholastics. Amidst efforts to resolve religious conflicts across Europe and address the legal standing of Indigenous peoples, ius gentium emerged with a distinct identity. While some Protestant theologians argued that ius gentium was inseparable from natural law in theological contexts, others viewed it as an intermediary between natural and positive law, or human law based on the common consent of nations. This essay examines these differing viewpoints through the writings of early modern Lutheran and Reformed theologians, especially in Germany and England. Despite theological criticisms of ius gentium, many theologians applied it pragmatically to address moral dilemmas and influence Christian ethics. The study of illicit moral behavior and matters of conscience was a crucial concern during this period, underscoring the importance of their contributions.

Measure for Measure: Alberico Gentili, International Law, and the Reason of State (Valentina Vadi)
DOI  10.1163/19552343-14234088
Abstract:

In humanist political theory, the concept of reason of state mostly described a course of action that did not follow the usual criteria of law (iustum), but rather what was useful (utile). Nonetheless, a broader understanding of the reason of state considered a community’s core values. Such common interests (ius status or ragion di stato) could be contrasted with, and balanced against, those of the international community (ius gentium or ragione delle genti). According to the latter view the reason of state did not abolish the rule of law but laid down the conditions for its application. It was not the expression of immoral politics. Rather, it indicated good state governance in order to preserve public safety (mantenere o conservare lo Stato). The article investigates the evolution of the concept of reason of state in humanist political theory and how Alberico Gentili (1552-1608), a religious refugee and Regius Professor at the University of Oxford, transplanted it from political theory into the law of nations.

Le ius gentium dans la pensée de Heinrich et Samuel von Cocceji (Lucia Bianchin)
DOI 10.1163/19552343-14234083
Abstract:

The article contributes to deepening the debate on the concept of ius gentium in the European legal tradition between the 17th and 18th centuries by investigating the thought of two German jurists who are still little studied in this respect. The first is Heinrich Coccejus (1644-1719), professor of natural law in Heidelberg and later in Frankfurt-on-the-Oder. He is the author of various treatises and dissertations on the subject of ius gentium. His most famous work is an extensive commentary on Grotius’ De iure belli ac pacis, entitled Grotius illustratus, completed and published in 1744-1752 by his son Samuel. Samuel von Cocceji (1679-1755), called « the great chancellor of Frederick II », was the ideologue of some important reforms of the Prussian enlightened ruler inspired by natural law principles, including the Corpus iuris Fridericiani (1749-1751).

La réception intellectuelle de Francisco de Vitoria chez les juristes internationaux à travers le temps (Ignacio de la Rasilla)
DOI  10.1163/19552343-14234086
Abstract:

The first part of our contribution examines the factors behind the first intellectual reception of Francisco de Vitoria and the “Divines of Salamanca” in the history of international legal ideas at the end of the nineteenth century. The second part explains the main factors behind the second reception of Vitoria and the subsequent consolidation of the international reputation of Vitoria and the “Spanish classics” as founding fathers of international law in the inter-war period. The third part analyses the three main dimensions of Vitoria’s third reception in the globalized post-Cold War era among international lawyers including the global-constitutionalist dimension, the postcolonial dimension and the historiographical dimension and their relevance in the context of the ‘turn to the history of international law’. The conclusion considers the scope and research potential of a renewed Vitorian historiography for the study of the history of international law.

Read all the articles with Brill.

SSRN PAPER: Kent MCNEIL, "The Intertemporal Law Doctrine’s Application to the Acquisition of Colonies in the Americas" [OPEN ACCESS]

 (image: whole world; source: Wikimedia Commons)

Abstract:

The intertemporal doctrine provides that international disputes have to be resolved in accordance with the international law that existed at the time the events giving rise to the dispute took place, not at the time the matter is adjudicated.1 It is thought to be impermissible to apply current standards to events that occurred in the past when different legal principles and rules were the norm. This doctrine applies as much to acquisition of colonies as to other international issues.2 So in order to determine whether a European nation acquired sovereignty over an overseas territory, it is necessary to determine and apply the international law extant at the time sovereignty was claimed. As international law has evolved from the time European overseas colonial expansion began in the fifteenth century, this means that different standards can apply in diverse colonial contexts, depending on when sovereignty is alleged to have been acquired.

On the author:

York University - Osgoode Hall Law School

Read more here: DOI 10.2139/ssrn.6188938.

(source: Law & Humanities Blog)

BOOK REVIEW: Leo BOONZAIER on State liability and the law: a historical and comparative analysis by Bartłomiej Wróblewski (Comparative Legal History, XIII (2025), nr. 2 (December), pp. 366-372)

(Image source: Taylor&Francis)

This book, authored by Bartłomiej Wróblewski, an Assistant Professor at SWPS University, Poznań, is a stimulating contribution to our understanding of the liability of public authorities in Europe. It was first published in Polish in 2011 by CH Beck and has now been translated into highly readable English by Gwidon Naskrent, with revisions by Stephen Dersley. The author tells us, mysteriously, that ‘some changes have been made’ for the English edition. It appeared in spring 2023 as the second title in Routledge’s new Studies in Comparative Legal History series. The author has written two previous books on closely related topics in German and Polish, respectively. The volume under review consolidates the results of this research and makes them available to English readers for the first time. 

To read the full review, please click here. Online access is free for members of the European Society for Comparative Legal History. For further information about the volume on our blog, please visit here

DOI: 10.1080/2049677X.2025.2580105

SSRN PAPER: Elen STOKES, "Hope as an Object of Legal Scholarship" [OPEN ACCESS]

 

(image: Bristol; Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Abstract:

This paper explores what it might mean for hope to be an object of legal scholarship. It raises questions about what to look for and where to look for it, framing the discussion around hopeful legal ends, means, attachments and atmospheres. It finds that the relationship between law and hope can be characterised by multiplicity, and that this invites a wide range of approaches to engaging with hope in and around law.

On the author:

Elen Stokes University of Bristol

More information here: DOI 10.2139/ssrn.5893144.    

(source: Law & Humanities Blog)

 

SSRN PAPER: Alessandro VOLPI, "Legal and Political Constitutionalism from Schmitt and Kelsen to Contemporary Debates: Notes on Constitutional Guardianship and Democracy" [OPEN ACCESS]

(image: Hanse Kelsen; Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Abstract:

This paper situates the Carl Schmitt-Hans Kelsen dispute on constitutional guardianship within the now-standard categories of political and legal constitutionalism. It examines the conflict between political and legal understandings of the constitution and of constitutional adjudication, alongside divergent conceptions of democracy that strain this institution (notably, the countermajoritarian difficulty). It begins with a close reconstruction of the Weimar-era debate-its legal and political details-covering competing views of adjudication, the constitution as a set of norms or a political decision, and alternative models of guarantees. Through comparative analysis, the paper then traces lines of continuity and discontinuity between those positions and contemporary discussions of constitutional guardianship within debates over legal versus political constitutionalism. What emerges is the enduring persistence of theoretical alternatives that deeply structure the idea of constitutional guardianship in a democratic system. At the same time, we find differences in interpretation and in proposals for legal politics concerning substantive versus procedural conceptions of the constitution, as well as divergent understandings of democratic conflict and pluralism and their implications for constitutional stability. The paper concludes by showing how certain theoretical contradictions at the heart of constitutional guardianship resist easy resolution and must be inhabited, rather than definitively overcome.

On the author:

 Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law

Read more here: DOI 10.2139/ssrn.6143326.

BOOK: Steven A. DEAN, Racial Capitalism and International Tax Law. The Story of Global Jim Crow (Oxford: OUP, 2025), 200 p. ISBN 9780197525975

 

(image source: OUP)

Abstract:

Global tax policy has long determined which states can access the resources necessary to flourish. Today, even the wealthiest states struggle to tax rich individuals and multinationals. Anti-Black racism has enriched affluent states at the expense of marginalized ones and undermined the taxing power of all nations. In a compelling narrative interwoven with personal storytelling, Racial Capitalism and International Tax Law: The Story of Global Jim Crow connects Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s metaphor of the "bad check"-representing unfulfilled promises of freedom and equality to Black Americans-to contemporary anti-Black global tax policies. The book uncovers lost connections, such as those between Edwin Seligman, an architect of our global tax system, and the Dunning School, which laid the foundation for Jim Crow laws, and between Stanley Surrey, a Harvard professor and advisor to President John F. Kennedy, and key moments of the Cold War. Furthermore, it takes a global view and reveals how racial panic triggered by African decolonization allowed an exclusive club of white countries to deliver a second bad check to newly sovereign states like Kenya and Nigeria. By circumventing the inclusive one-country, one-vote system of the United Nations, the OECD and its double tax treaty dismantled the generous arrangements that helped Europe rebuild after both World Wars. Racial Capitalism and International Tax Law exposes the surprising role anti-Black racism played in shaping an international tax system that benefits billionaires at the expense of billions of people. This eye-opening account challenges readers to rethink the global tax system and its profound impact on racial and economic justice.

 Table of contents:

Introduction: Tax and the Origins of Global Inequality
Chapter 1. The Perils of Precision
Chapter 2. A Surprising Generosity
Chapter 3. The Rise of Global Jim Crow
Chapter 4. US Power and Global Jim Crow
Chapter 5. Contesting Global Jim Crow
Chapter 6. Global Jim Crow's Pyrrhic Victory
Chapter 7. Beyond Global Jim Crow
Conclusion: Fear of a Black Planet

On the author:

Steven A. Dean is an award-winning author and a Professor of Law and the Paul Siskind Research Scholar at Boston University. He has spoken at the United Nations and testified in Congress about the impact of racism on tax law. Dean's work forced President Biden to change course on tax havens and forced the leading international tax policymaking organization to withdraw a major marketing brochure. He led the world's foremost graduate tax law program at NYU and practiced tax with leading global law firms. He earned his law degree from Yale and has published four previous books, including two with Oxford.

Read more here. 

VACANCY: Research professor - open to all scientific fields (Open BOFZAP) (Leuven: KULeuven, DEADLINE 1 SEP 2026)

KU Leuven announces the vacancy of full-time positions for junior or senior 'research professors', which are open to leading and internationally recognised scientists with diverse research profiles from all scientific fields. As members of the independent academic staff (ZAP), these research professors have, in addition to other academic tasks, the primary responsibility of conducting scientific research of a high international standard in their field.  We are looking for inspiring, motivated and internationally recognised academics with an excellent research record and teaching competence in the indicated field. The appointment is scheduled to start on 1 September 2027. Applications will be evaluated in parallel and independently by 1) the KU Leuven Research Council in a competitive procedure across all research domains and 2) the relevant faculty advisory committee. These research professor positions will be funded for the first 10 years with funds made available specifically for this purpose by the Flemish Government through the Special Research Fund (BOF), and the positions are therefore designated with the abbreviation 'BOFZAP'. During those first 10 years, teaching obligations will be limited. After this period, the BOFZAP position will be converted into a regular academic position (ZAP) with higher expectations in terms of teaching and service provision.

Read more here.  

BOOK: Daphe PENNA, Byzantine Law. The Law of the Eastern Roman Empire [Cambridge Elements/Elements in Rethinking Byzantium, eds. Leonora NEVILLE & Darlene L. BROOKS HEDSTROM] (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2026)

(image source: CUP)

Abstract:

The purpose of this Element is to introduce the study of later Roman law (Byzantine law) to a wider academic audience. Currently a great deal of specialized knowledge is necessary to approach the field of Byzantine law. This Element works to break down the barriers to this fascinating subject by providing a brief, clear introduction to the topic. It makes a scholarly contribution by placing Byzantine law in a broader perspective and by reconsidering some of the aspects of the study of Byzantine law. The Element places Byzantine law outside of the box by comparing, for example, Byzantine law to the European legal tradition and highlighting the role that Byzantine law can have in unravelling the common legal past of Europe. It gives also information on the status of Byzantine legal studies and makes suggestions on how to study Byzantine law and why.

On the author:

Daphne Penna, University of Groningen and KU Leuven 

 Read more here: DOI 10.1017/9781009696074.

BOOK: Lorren ELDRIDGE, Emily IRELAND & Caroline DERRY (eds.), Celebrating Women in Legal History. Making and Shaping a Discipline (London: Bloomsbury, 2026), 232 p. ISBN 9781509983919

 

(image source: Bloomsbury)

Abstract:

This book champions the work of women in legal history, and their contributions to both the discipline and feminist activism over nearly two centuries. It considers women in academia, which was, in theory, open to women before they could become lawyers in most European countries. And it considers women working beyond the academy: many studied legal history in other ways; in local history societies, through archival work, and via activism. Women legal historians have been under-recognised or forgotten altogether, even where they made substantial scholarly contributions. In focusing on the work of women in legal history, this book lays the foundations for a transformational reassessment of the discipline. It asks searching questions about what counts as legal history. It demonstrates that work by and about women should appear in our legal history courses, be discussed in our seminars, and be cited in our academic work. If the field of legal history is lively, innovative, and wide-ranging, everyone working in it benefits. By shining a light on undervalued scholarship, and areas which have received insufficient attention, we challenge assumptions in our discipline and advance its methods. Whilst some women were pioneers and worked to change gendered aspects of the law, others led more ordinary lives, disappearing from the gaze of legal history even as they contributed to it. This book tells some of their stories.

Table of contents:

Foreword, Erika Rackley (University of Birmingham, UK)
1. Selden's Sister and Women in Legal History, Lorren Eldridge (University of Cambridge, UK), Emma Ireland (University of Liverpool, UK) and Caroline Derry (The Open University, UK)

Part I: Methodology and Studying Women in Legal History
2. Unwritten Stories: Recovering and Writing Women's Legal History, Jennifer Aston (Northumbria University UK)
3. Missing Mildred Miles, Christine George (New York University Law Library, USA)

Part II: Women Legal Historians in the Academy
4. Rights and Duties of Englishwomen: The Life and Work of Erna Reiss (1888-1974), Feminist Legal Historian, Anne Logan (University of Kent, UK)
5. Aere Perennius: The Life and Legacy of Professor Olivia Robinson, Lisa Cowan (University of Edinburgh, UK)
6. The First Women Scholars in Serbian and Yugoslav Legal History at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law, Nina Kršljanin (University of Belgrade, Serbia)
7. Jelena Danilovic: The First Woman to Teach Roman Law in Serbia, Valentina Cvetkovic-Ðordevic (University of Belgrade, Serbia)

Part III: Women Legal Historians on the Periphery
8. Madge Easton Anderson: Making and Shaping Legal History from Scotland, Maria Fletcher, Charlie Peevers and Seonaid Stevenson-McCabe (University of Glasgow, UK)
9. Scotland's Representative: Chrystal Macmillan and Suffragist Legal Historical Practice, Charlie Peevers (University of Glasgow, UK)

10. The Marriages of Captain John Campbell of Carrick: How a Wronged Wife Changed English Marriage Law, Deborah Siddoway (Durham University, UK)

 

 On the editors:

Lorren Eldridge is Assistant Professor at the University of Cambridge, UK; Emily Ireland is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Liverpool, UK.; Caroline Derry is Lecturer in Law at The Open University, UK.

More information here.