Puchta
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Georg Friedrich Puchta (31 August 17988 January 1846) was a German
Legal scholar Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the a ...
.


Biography

Born on 31 August 1798 at Kadolzburg in
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
, Puchta came of an old
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
n
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
family which had immigrated into Germany to avoid religious persecution. His father, Wolfgang Heinrich Puchta (1769–1845), a legal writer and district judge, imbued his son with legal conceptions and principles. From 1811 to 1816 Puchta attended the ''Egidiengymnasium'' at
Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
, during the headmastership of
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political philosophy and t ...
, an eminent German philosopher. In 1816 Puchta began his legal studies at the
University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...
, where—in addition to being initiated by his father into legal practice—he fell under the influence of the writings of Savigny and Niebuhr. At this time the famous
Christian Friedrich von Glück Christian Friedrich von Glück (1 July 1755 – 20 January 1831) was a German jurist. Born at Halle in the Duchy of Magdeburg on 1 July 1755, he studied from 1770 to 1776 at the University of Halle and on the 16 April 1777 he received a Doctor ...
lectured there. Puchta said about the faculty of Erlangen: "". (Translation "Every university certainly is plagued with a thorn in the flesh, but the faculty here, when Glück dies, will have nothing but thorns.") Taking his
doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
(Dissertatio de Itinere, Actu et Via) and his
habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...
in
Roman Law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. Roman law also den ...
at Erlangen, he established himself there in 1820 as a
Privatdozent ''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualifi ...
. In 1821 Puchta went on a year-long trip (''peregrinatio academica'') around Germany to visit important universities. During this trip he met some of the foremost German legal scholars of his time: Gustav Hugo,
Friedrich Carl von Savigny Friedrich Carl von Savigny (21 February 1779 – 25 October 1861) was a German jurist and historian. Early life and education Savigny was born at Frankfurt am Main, of a family recorded in the history of Lorraine, deriving its name from the cast ...
und Anton Friedrich Justus Thibaut. One year later, Puchta was appointed Professor at University of Erlangen (), where he stated on until 1828. Leaving Erlangen, Puchta was appointed full Professor of Roman Law at
University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...
in 1828. He stated in Munich until 1835 when he went on to the
University of Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg () is a public research university located in Marburg, Germany. It was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Prote ...
, to become a professor of Roman and
Ecclesiastical Law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...
() there. In 1837 he left Marburg to become a Professor for Legal Scholarship at
Leipzig University Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...
(). When
Friedrich Carl von Savigny Friedrich Carl von Savigny (21 February 1779 – 25 October 1861) was a German jurist and historian. Early life and education Savigny was born at Frankfurt am Main, of a family recorded in the history of Lorraine, deriving its name from the cast ...
was appointed Minister of Justice of
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
() on 28 February 1842, there was some debate concerning his succession at
Berlin University The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humboldt ...
(then named ). Finally Puchta was chosen to succeed him in 1842. At the pinnacle of this legal career, Puchta was in 1842 appointed to the Prussian Supreme Tribunal (). In 1845 he became a member of the consultative Prussian Council of State () and the Prussian Legislative Commission (). Puchta died suddenly in Berlin on 8 January 1846 due to Miserere.


Legal thinking

His chief merit as a jurist lay in breaking with past unscientific methods in the teaching of Roman law and in making its spirit intelligible to students. Among his writings must be especially mentioned (Leipzig, 1838, and many later editions), in which he elucidated the dogmatic essence of Roman law in a manner never before attempted; and the (Leipzig, 1841–1847, and later editions), which gives a clear picture of the organic development of law among the Romans. Among his other writings are (Erlangen, 1828–1837) and (Leipzig, 1840). (1851), edited by
Adolph August Friedrich Rudorff Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo, and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name with German origins. The name is a compound derived from the Old High German ''Athalwolf'' (or ''Hadulf''), a composition of ''athal'', or ''adal'', mean ...
, is a collection of essays on various branches of Roman law, and the preface contains a sympathetic biographical sketch of the jurist.


Published works

* * * * * * * * * Published posthumously. * * Published posthumously. * Published posthumously.


Bibliography

* * * * . *


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puchta, Georg Friedrich 1798 births 1846 deaths People from Fürth (district) Jurists from Bavaria University of Erlangen–Nuremberg alumni Academic staff of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg Academic staff of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich Academic staff of the University of Marburg Academic staff of Leipzig University Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin People from the Kingdom of Bavaria Jurists from the Kingdom of Prussia