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[German Version] I. History Ever since classical antiquity, the theory of resistance and the right of resistance have been linked inseparably to the understanding of sovereignty and its limits in both civil society and the church. 1. In the Germanic tribal kingdom of Western, Central, and Northern Europe, three overlapping legal concepts legitimated a right of resistance: (1) the conviction that the ruler is not above the law but subject to the law (grounded in the tradition of the administration of justice by the community of all …

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[German Version] 1. Johannes (Nov 24, 1889, Kammerstein, Middle Franconia …

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[German Version] The Prussian Civil Code ( Preußisches Allgemeines Landrecht) went into effect on Jun 1, 1794, as a law code for the unified Prussian monarchy. It was drafted at the behest of Frederick the Great by the new chancellor, Casimir v. Carmer (1780); among those contributing to its content, Carl Gottlieb Svarez and Ernst Ferdinand Klein stand out. Completed in 1791, after Frederick’s death, it was to have taken effect in 1792 as the Allgemeines Gesetzbuch für die Preußischen Staaten [Civil code for the Prussian states]. Not least in reaction to the French Revolution, political resistance on the part of William II, Frederick’s successor, forced revision and a new title. In this form – with many amendments –, it remained in effect until replaced by the analogous imperial legislation (esp. the German Civil Code of Jan 1, 1900). Sections of it (e.g. laws regarding responsibility for church maintenance) are still relevant today.…

[German Version] I. Practical Theology – II. Law I. Practical Theology …

[German Version] The expressions ius in sacra and ius circa sacra came into use in the 17th century but were not clearly distinguished until the 19th century. They denote the legal authority of the territorial ruler by virtue of his supervisory authority over all corporations and religious bodies (Secular supremacy: ius in sacra), grounded in his secular authority, and his authority as summepiscopus (Summepiscopate of the princes) of the Protestant church ( ius in sacris). Episcopalist theology (Episcopalism: I) developed a graduated theory of secular authority, in co…

[German Version] (Jan 27, 1701, Trier – Sep 2, 1790, Montquintin Castle, Luxemburg), Catholic historian and canonist. Hontheim was from a patrician family in Trier. He studied law, theology and classical philology in Trier, Leuven and Leiden. He received the Dr.iur.utr. in 1724 and became a priest and canonist in 1728, first in Trier then in Coblenz in 1740. He was professor of Roman law in Trier (1733–1738), administrator of the diocesan court in Coblenz (1738) and auxiliary bishop and pro-chancellor of the University in Trier (1748). Despite ecclesial and political success in the service of three electoral princes, Hontheim found time for extensive academic work. In addition to liturgical works, he gained a reputation among experts for a three-volume collection of documents on the history of Trier and his account of it. Meanwhile, his major work, De statu Ecclesiae et legitima potestate Romani Pontificis liber singularis, ad reuniendos dissidentes in Religione Christianos compositus, which appeared under the pseudonym Justinus Febronius …

[German Version] Territorialism is a theory of the legal relationship between the state and the church, according to which the all-embracing sovereignty of the prince includes sovereignty over the church and the public practice of religion in his territory; this means that all leadership authority in the church derives from the territorial lord. Chronologically the territorial system gradually gave way to episcopalism (which was influenced increasingly by territorialist arguments as it emerged); in the 18th and early 19th centuries, it also competed with the system of collegialism. The Kulturkampf was still largely dominated by territorialist ideas on the par…

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[German Version] I. Law In contrast with its imprecise meaning in general usage, which also includes social disparities, in law the term “privilege” has a more clearly defined meaning, which became increasingly precise in the course of history. It denotes a special right granted to an individual or majority group by sovereign act of a responsible authority. As a legal term it has its origin in Roman law; in the Middle Ages it was developed essentially by the church, but used also by the emperor. In…

[German Version] I. Law 1. “Broadcasting” has a wider, meaning in law than in everyday language. State broadcasting agreements typically define broadcasting as “the organization and distribution of presentations of any kind in word, sound, and image by the use of electrical oscillations . . .” (Ger. State Broadcasting Agreement, §2, para. 1 [June 7, 2002 ed.]). This covers not only radio and television (including Pay-TV), but also sound and moving picture services, …

[German Version] refers to the right under imperial law to emigrate for religious reasons. The Peace of Augsburg (1555) guaranteed the estates of the empire the ¶ ius reformandi , i.e. the authority to determine the confession of their territory (religious ban). Subjects of other confessions were granted as a legal benefit ( beneficium) a qualified right to emigrate (i.e. taking along family and belongings) to a territory of their confession – and, therewith, the first constitutionally guaranteed basic right. The Peace of Westphalia confirmed this…

[German Version] 1. History. The concept originated in the rational Enlightenment doctrine of natural law (IV), and especially in the state-church law theory of collegialism. “Religious societies” is thus a short formula for the outside view of the churches, and later of all religious confessional societies from the vantage point of the religiously neutral state, which no longer concerns itself with the issue of religious truth and is therefore committed in principle to equal treatment. It was in this form that the concept found its way via the Prussian Civil Code, the Paulskirche…

[German Version] (Apr 23, 1893, Frankfurt am Main – Feb 22, 1976, Erlangen) was a Protestant historian of law, and lectured in state and canon law. After studies in Freiburg im Breisgau and Halle, and military service from 1914 to 1918, Liermann gained his Habilitation in Freiburg in 1926. Initially appointed associate professor in 1929, he held a chair in Erlangen from 1931 to 1961. In addition to numerous works on the history of law, Liermann exerted a formative influence particularly through his textbook on canon law of 1933. He summar…

[German Version] (religious name Philipp; Nov 7, 1744, Budenheim, near Mainz – Aug 20, 1808, Düsseldorf), theologian and canonis…

[German Version] ( appel comme d’abus) is an appeal of civil authorities against an abuse of power by an ecclesiastical authority transgressing the boundaries drawn by civil law; it was thus (along with the placet) a particularly effective instrument of secular supremacy. It achieved its distinctive form in France in 1539, when it served primarily as a defense against encroachments on Gallican liberties (Gallicanism). The French model also inspired its use in Spain and the Netherlands. Initially legal title was vested in royal church advocacy (Church advocate). The …

[German Version] (Aug 31, 1904, Wülfrath – Nov 29, 1976, Göttingen), teacher of constitutional and administrative law. After studying in Marburg, Berlin, and Bonn (doctorate under C. Schmitt), Weber entered the Prussian ministry of education and cultural affairs, initially in the religious division, later in the division for national culture. In addition he was appointed lecturer at the Berlin School of Commerce in 1931 and promoted ¶ to full professor in 1935. In 1942 he became a professor at Leipzig and in 1949 at Göttingen, where he served as rector from 195…

[German Version] ( ius exclusivae) denotes the right of a civil ruler or state in Catholic church law to exclude as undesirable a certain candidate from being elected or appointed to church office. Papal exclusion, which the sovereigns of major Catholic powers (German and – later – Austrian emperors, kings of France and Spain) claimed for themselves with no formal recognition by th…

[German Version] The term state religion denotes a religious element unifying the collectivity of subjects, considered indispensable for the existence of the state (“un roi, une loi, une foi”). It was taken for granted as the foundation of nearly every early form of the state. To the extent that religion is considered an element of public order, religious pluralism is perceived as a threat to the unity of the state, since it bears the seed of civil war, or at least qualified loyalty on the part of th…