Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Prof. Dr. Philipp Dann

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin | Faculty of Law | Prof. Dr. Philipp Dann | Research | (Post)-Colonial History of Law in Germany

(Post-)Colonial History of Law in Germany

The project (Post)colonial History of Law in Germany aims at filling existing gaps of legal research concerning colonial law and colonial jurisprudence in Germany. A group of around twenty researchers from Germany will explore various topics and fields of law in order to examine how law and have helped to constitute German colonialism and how jurisprudence has received, integrated, conceptualised, legitimised but also criticised colonial law. Moreover, the project will focus on the period after German colonialism. It aims to determine to which extent there are continuities of colonial law in the law and jurisprudence of the Weimar Republic, National Socialism and the Federal Republic of Germany. We think of continuities in legal and dogmatic structures, legal terminology, theorems and legal discourse. The project is intended to contribute to a better understanding and assessment of the impact of German colonialism on German jurisprudence and legal structures. Since the German Empire is known to have been an eminently influential epoch for German law, we suspect greater continuities and dependencies that can be traced today than has been generally assumed to date. Bulding on this, the project asks for a reflexive 'postcolonial' German jurisprudence that is more aware of its origins. The aim of the project is to publish a volume edited in cooperation with Prof. Isabel Feichtner (Würzburg) und Prof. Jochen von Bernstorff (Tübingen. A first workshop took place in May 2019, a second one is scheduled for autumn. The publication of the volume is planned for 2020.