Martin Wolff
Martin Wolff ( born September 26, 1872 in Berlin, † July 20, 1953 in London) was a German lawyer, who was expelled in 1934 by his Berlin Chair.
- 2.1 Property Law (1910 )
- 2.2 Private International Law (1945 )
Life
Childhood and university education (1872-1903)
Wolff was born in Berlin into a Jewish merchant family, the son of Wilhelm Wolff and Lehna Wolff (nee Ball) on 26 September 1872 and educated in the Jewish faith. He attended the French Gymnasium Berlin and studied in Berlin jurisprudence. In 1894 he was graduated from the law school with the work The beneficium excussionis realistic. In 1900 he completed his habilitation in Berlin with Scripture Construction on foreign soil, particularly the border superstructure according to the Civil Code for the German Empire on historical basis.
University career (1903-1938)
In 1903 he was appointed extraordinary professor there. From this time, his contribution comes to property law in Enneccerus -tilt Wolff, who for nearly a half century was the standard work and in 1937 was translated into Spanish. 1907 his son Konrad Wolff was born, who later became a famous pianist was. It was not until 1914 he was awarded a full professorship in Marburg. In 1919 he moved to Bonn, until he returned to Berlin in 1921; he was appointed Professor of Civil Law, Commercial Law and Private International Law. Wolff was a gifted academic teacher whose lectures were always crowded. With the rise of the Nazis, it soon came to disturbances of his lectures: On 4 and 5 May 1933 student SA men interrupted his lecture and threatened students who wanted to participate. As Wolff began to read, he was not heard. More than a hundred rioters whistled house keys and shouted " Death to Judah ." Only after the intervention of the University Rector Edward Kohlrausch, who supported Wolff in his own words as the only university teacher who lectures operation could proceed undisturbed again. But in the next time it came to lecture disorders in Wolff.
Together with his colleague Ernst Rabel Wolff was in Berlin in 1935 his Jewish origins ousted from his chair because of the new Dean of the Law Faculty, the fanatical Nazis Count of Gleispach, although both were not covered by the exclusion of the professional civil service law, because they tenured before 1914 had been. The dismissal was finally decreed by the Ministry of Culture, without that there was a legal basis for it.
Emigration to England (1938-1953)
In 1938, he finally emigrated to England; he should not re-enter Germany. He was a Fellow at All Souls College, Oxford. In 1945 he published there Private International Law, a comprehensive description of the English private international law. In 1947 he became a British citizen. In 1953 he received an honorary doctorate from Oxford University. He died on 20 July 1953 in London.
Works
Wolff has written numerous essays on trade, equity, families, property and insurance law. Likewise, in the field of private international law. Especially his textbooks on family and inheritance law had great success and were launched again and again. The Textbook of property law was continued by his student Ludwig Raiser.
Property Law (1910 )
Wolff's law of property was first published in 1910 and soon became a standard work. It appeared 1910-1923 in nine runs with 37,000 copies sold. It is characterized by dogmatic rigor and systematic unity. At the same time, Wolff was also accused of iris economic and historical contexts, as well as the connections to the public right of. Methodological discussions took Wolff " rather bored " note.
Private International Law (1945 )
Wolff's Private International Law has been very well received in England and widely rezipiert. Nevertheless, the typical continental, strict classification was strange to English readers; in particular, the detailed treatment of problems that were previously not encountered in the English case law met with criticism:
But it is precisely this made it more relevant to the English courts, when it came to fill legal gaps. Thus, Wolff's book is cited in decisions of the House of Lords.
Publications (selection)
- The building on foreign soil (1900)
- Property Law (1910 )
- The Family Law (1912 )
- Private International Law (1933 )
- Private International Law (1945 )
- Traité Comparative Law (3 volumes ) ( 1950-1952 )