Town privileges
Municipal law is originally the imperial or sovereign prerogative ( Stadtregal ) through which a village or a suburban settlement became a town and epitome of force in a city law sets, in contrast to the Land Law, which was usually laid down by the state government. The city law is no single "City Law", but consists of several privileges ( settlement rights, duties ) and individual rights, of which the market right is the oldest most. As a market town locations with limited municipal law are referred to.
The usual in Central Europe city law probably goes back originally to Italian models, which were in turn aligned with the traditions of self-government of the Roman cities.
In today's German-speaking world there is no city law more strictly speaking, that is, the self-government in the towns regulate constitutional principles and laws of the federal states (see Municipal Code ). The city status, that is, the imposition of a community to the city, is now also practiced in Germany by the countries and limited to the right to use the name 'city'. Status and competence of a city are rather linked to their population, not the label as a community or city. There are, for example in Lower Saxony cities and towns that are " independent communities " as so equipped with advanced skills, while on the other hand, have given to the community as a composite member municipalities of a total community their tasks almost entirely cities.
History of the city law in different states
For cities with municipal law, there are specific terms like Freistadt (Hungary, Austria ), City ( Germany ), Statutory (including chartered cities and towns, Austria, Czech Republic), titular ( Germany, Austria ).
Germany
Middle Ages
The importance of the German town law in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation justifies an emphasis on the German town law tradition. The German town law gave the cities in an international comparison special municipal autonomy. It was in the Middle Ages in the context of the German eastern settlement and not least for the city ( new) start-ups in Eastern Europe exemplary.
City rights originated in Germany since the 10th century. Through it not only private law relations, but also objects of public law were normalized. Often, the right of a city was more or less completely rezipiert of others; so the city rights of Soest, Dortmund, Münster, Minden, Westphalia and other cities, but especially the city of Magdeburg rights, Lübeck and Cologne. The Community of the cities that had received over or transferred by the city of the Lord is the law of a city is called the city right family.
The Lubeck city rights in 1160 was derived from the Soest law. It won - due to the supremacy of Lubeck in Hamburg - the coastal areas of Schleswig to the eastern German settlements on the Baltic Sea.
The Magdeburg law spread to the internal lands to Bohemia, Silesia, today's Slovakia ( uA in the zips ) and into Poland and as Kulm law over the German state of Prussia Medal. In Poland, the Magdeburg Law was the generally binding.
From the Magdeburg rights to the Brandenburg town law deduced in the Mark Brandenburg, Pomerania and southern Mecklenburg.
The city law played an important role in the German eastern settlement in the Middle Ages: the colonists were recruited under the condition (or settled independently ) that they could keep their own right in the towns founded by them. The city charter was initially in the core a market law, supplemented by municipal jurisdiction and fixing law. Only later did the city rights were also adopted by towns whose population is not in German ( eastern Poland, Lithuania, western Russia) or no longer spoke German (Bohemia, Moravia, etc.).
From today's point of view is remarkable that a closed settlement could be divided into different city areas of law entirely. Many present-day German cities have been created from such settlements that were originally included several cities in the legal sense (eg, Hildesheim, Braunschweig, Kassel).
The acquisition of a municipal law usually meant the recognition of the city as donating right suburb; eg Magdeburg was right suburb for the cities with Magdeburg rights. The local aldermen chair so decided on legal ambiguities in the mortgaged with the Magdeburg law cities. So it is to declare that certain municipal rights are known under different names, even though they originate from the same source: The name then does not feature the original legal origin, but the recognized right suburb.
Early Modern Times
As a result of the reorganization of the territorial conditions as well as the legal terms changes the city rights were necessary. So in the course of the 15th, 16th and 17th century saw many places improved city rights, so-called " Reformation ", but under the influence of legal scholars more and more Roman law was mixed in Hamburg, for example, under Mayor Hermann Langenbeck. Finally, the old city rights had yet soft to on meager remains of the authority of the rulers with their own jurisdiction and autonomy of the cities.
19th century
With the Empire in 1803 and almost all were mediated by then 51 independent cities rich, so subject to state domination. In the remaining free cities of Frankfurt, Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, the city charter was transformed into own national law with those obtained by the continued fall of the empire international legal sovereignty. Only for the family and inheritance remained individual statutes of the old city rights ( statutes ) to the entry into force of the Civil Code on January 1, 1900 will receive.
20th century
The rights of today's cities of Hamburg, Bremen and Berlin are land rights. The independent cities in Germany have today special community organization rights.
In today's German-speaking world there is no city law in the strict sense, ie the self-government in the towns and countries regulate the rule of law. The name of the city is just a title that is still awarded ( German communities, where the title city was awarded in the 21st century).
A list of all German cities with municipal law can be found at List of cities in Germany.
Austria
In Austria, a total of 201 municipalities the municipal law ( municipalities ) that have been transferred from the respective main historical places on today's administrative unit - correctly it is called City Rank ( at the church today Drossendorf - Zissersdorf has only Drossendorf city law). This city right now plays in managing only a subordinate role.
15 of which are chartered town (also called statutory towns ) namely Eisenstadt, Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Krems, Linz, Rust, Salzburg, St. Pölten, Steyr, Villach, Waidhofen / Ybbs, Wels, Vienna, Wiener Neustadt, where all state capitals except Bregenz are Statutarstädte. Statutory standing in the administrative structure both on a level with the municipality (NUTS level LAU -2) as well as at the level of the district ( no NUTS level between NUTS 3 and LAU 1). Since 1962 is set out in the Federal Constitution that the survey may be requested only by the Statutory municipalities with at least 20 000 inhabitants.
A city Scheibbs, refers to old town charter and titular calls (otherwise only to be found in Germany, old law of the Holy Roman Empire ), the Statutory Rust cites as a free city at the Royal Hungarian city law.
Eight historic places with city rights were incorporated and no longer carry the title of city, or nurmehr formal.
By way of derogation from the city legal term means in Austria usually settlements and urban areas over 5000 residents than urban.
Switzerland
Switzerland has no municipal law in the legal sense, which could be awarded. The term " city " here is a statistical quantity: Indicates a political community of more than 10,000 inhabitants, it is considered statistically as a city. Whether referred to a community itself as a city that is mostly historical. So far not call all municipalities with over 10,000 inhabitants town, conversely, there are numerous historic small towns with less than 10,000 inhabitants, who define themselves as a city.
Czechia
In the Czech Republic there are 23 statutory cities.
More
- Unitary Authority in the United Kingdom and New Zealand
- Powiat, cities with county rights in Poland
- Ciudad, villa in the Spanish-speaking