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German Private Law Introduction to German Private Law at the Law School of Maqsut Narikbayev University, Astana |
14.05.24 |
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Spring Semester 2024; Monday, 13:45 - 15:00, room 342, and Friday, 10:00 - 11:15, room 229 |
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Final note
After the end of the course this website has been finished. It will stay available for the purpose of deepening and repetition. Thank you for your interest and commitment. You are always welcome to contact me for any comments or questions. With best wishes for your future studies, yours Prof. Dr. Thomas Schmitz
This course will impart basic knowledge and some methodological skills in German private law. It shall also contribute to wide the course participants' horizon, deepen their understanding and enhance their ability to reflect critically on issues of private law in general.
Within the legal order of a state, private law is the law that regulates the relationships between legal entities (individuals or legal persons) that are legally (not necessarily economically) equal and act in theory (not necessarily in real life) self-determined. It also applies to the relationships of citizens with the holders of sovereign authority when these act under private law.
Germany has developed a particularly sophisticated - but also complicated - private law that has inspired - but also daunted - the private law experts in other countries. This course will introduce to its structures and basic approaches, also its methodological approach, its key principles, and some important legal institutions and legal concepts. It will focus on the German Civil Code [Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch] (= BGB), in particular its general part and the law of obligations, especially contract law. Moreover, it will provide a brief overview for orientation over the other fields of private law. The course also includes an exercise in practical legal case-solving in the field of private law.
There will be two in-class examinations, a mid-term examination in Week 6 and a final examination in Week 14. Each contributes with 50 % to the final grade. See for more details about this course the course syllabus (available at MNU Canvas).
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Syllabus (→ from KAZGUU Canvas) |
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Diagram 1 (The spectrum of private law) |
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Diagram 2 (Legal methods in legal practice [overview]) |
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How to answer exam questions (preparation for the mid-term examination) |
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Mid-term examination (questions) |
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Case 1 (facts and discussion of the case) |
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Final examination (questions) |
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Special service: All course materials in one file |
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Slides presented in
the lectures (®
aids for illustration) |
Contents (summary/details)
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§ 1 General introduction |
Part I: Basic concepts of German private law
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§ 2 Introduction to the German Civil Code [Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (= BGB)] |
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§ 3 Methodological approach |
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§ 4 Subjects and objects of law |
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§ 5 Declaration of intent and legal transaction |
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§ 6 The distinction between obligation transaction and disposition transaction |
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§ 7 Agency and representation |
Part II: The contract
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§ 8 Private autonomy and its limits |
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§ 9 The conclusion, validity and content of a contract |
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§ 10 Performance and irregularities in the performance |
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§ 11 The most important types of contracts regulated in the German Civil Code |
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§ 12 Exercise in practical case-solving in contract law |
Part II: Other fields of private law (brief overview for orientation)
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§ 13 Other fields regulated in the German Civil Code |
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§ 14 Important fields regulated in special legislation |
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§ 15 Final discussion |
[A. Textbooks] [B. Commentaries] [C. Journals]
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Robbers, Gerhard: An Introduction to German Law, 8th edition 2023 (cf. part D) [available at the lecturer] |
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Fischer, Howard D.: The German Legal System and Legal Language, volume 1 and 2, 7th edition 2021 (cf. esp. chapter 10) |
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Grundmann, Stefan; Riesenhuber, Karl (editors): Private Development in Context. German Private Law and Scholarship in the 20th Century, 2018 |
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Kötz, Hein: European Contract Law, 2nd edition 2017 |
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Miller, Russel A.: An Introduction to German Law and Legal Culture, 2024 [coming soon] |
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Möllers, Thomas M. J.: Legal Methods. How to work with legal arguments, 2020 [available at the lecturer] |
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Suzuki-Klasen, Katharina: A Comparative Study of the Formation of Contracts in Japanese, English, and German Law, 2022 |
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Zekoll, Joachim; Wagner, Gerhard (editors): Introduction to German Law, 3rd edition 2018 (cf. esp. chapter 6) [available at the lecturer] |
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Zippelius, Reinhold: Introduction to German Legal , 2008 [available at the lecturer] |
B. Commentaries and encyclopedias
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Basedow, Jürgen; Hopt, Klaus J.; Zimmermann, Reinhard; Stier, Andreas (editors): Max Planck Encyclopedia of European Private Law (Max-EuP 2012), 2012 (encyclopedia of private law in Europe with special regard to German law, available as book and online) |
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Dannemann, Gerhard; Schulze, Reiner (editors): German Civil Code. Article-by-Article Commentary, volume I: Books 1 - 3, 2020; volume II: Books 4 - 5, 2022 |
D. Journals with frequent contributions on German public law in English
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AGLJ : Anglo-German Law Journal, since 2015 |
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ERPL: European Review of Private Law, since 1993 |
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GLJ: German Law Journal, since 2000 |
A. Links concerning the general subject of the course
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German laws in English translation: German Civil Code [Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch] (= BGB) (html/pdf), Introductory Act to the Civil Code (html/pdf), General Act on Equal Treatment (html/pdf), others (Gesetze im Internet) |
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German courts: Federal Court of Justice [Bundesgerichtshof] |
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Research institutions: Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law (Hamburg) |
B. Links concerning special subjects
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concerning § 1: Reinhard Zimmermann, Corpus Juris Civilis, in: Max-EuP 2012 (on the great source of Roman law that inspired the making of the German Civil Code) |
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concerning § 2: Alexander J. Wulf, Insights From the Historical German Codification Debate..., Journal of the Indian Law Institute, 60 (2018), p. 121 ff.; Peter Schlechtriem, The German Act to Modernize the Law of Obligations in the Context of Common Principles and Structures of the Law of Obligations in Europe, Oxford University Comparative Law Forum 2, 2002 |
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concerning § 3: The Economic Analysis of Law (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) |
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concerning § 4: Univ. of Wroclaw (ed.), Natural and Legal Persons in the German Civil Code (course material) |
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concerning § 6: Abstraction principle (explanation at en-academic.com); Kornel Sadowski, The Abstraction Principle and the Separation Principle in German Law, Adam Mickiewicz University Law Review 4 (2014), 237 ff. (comment by a student) |
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concerning § 7: Hein Kötz, Agency and Representation (Chapter 16 of: European Contract Law, 2nd edition 2017; on agency and representation in private law in Europe) |
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concerning § 8: Mira Luthe, Private Autonomy - Duties and Limitations, 2013 (conference report); Hannes Unberath, Feedom of Contract, in: Max-EuP 20212 (comparative presentation) |
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concerning § 9: Martin Illmer, Contract (Formation), in: Max-EuP 2012 (comparative presentation); De Fries, Tina: Invalidity Rules in the German Civil Code, European integration studies 18 (2022), no. 2, p. 127 ff.; Guide to the General Equal Treatment Act (Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency) |
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concerning § 10: Filippo Ranieri, Good Faith, in: Max-EuP 20212 (comparative presentation); Jan van Hein, Culpa in Contrahendo, in: Max-EuP 20212 (comparative presentation) |
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concerning § 11: Handelskammer Hamburg (editor), German Sales Law |
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concerning § 13: Sonja Meier, Unjustified Enrichment, in: Max-EuP 20212 (comparative presentation) |
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concerning § 14: Klaus J. Hopt, Commercial Law, in: Max-EuP 20212 (comparative presentation); Felix Steffek, Piercing the Corporate Veil, in: Max-EuP 20212 (comparative presentation); Jürgen Basedow, Private International Law, in: Max-EuP 20212 (comparative presentation) |