CK - Law and Administration 2004

2004

CK-- Law and Administration

Der Brockhaus, Recht: das Recht verstehen, seine Rechte kennen [Brockhaus, Law: Understanding Law, Knowing One’s Rights]. Ed. Brigit Staude. Mannheim; Leipzig: Brockhaus, 2002. 847 p. ill. 25 cm. (Brockhaus-Sachlexika). ISBN 3-7653-0561-8: EUR 49.95 [04-1-307]

Alpmann-Brockhaus, Fachlexikon Recht [Alpmann-Brockhaus Encyclopedia of Law]. Ed. Verlag Alpmann & Schmidt Juristische Lehrgänge and F. A. Brockhaus. Münster: Alpmann & Schmidt; Leipzig; Mannheim: Brockhaus, 2003. 1,618 p. 25 cm. + cd-rom. ISBN 3-7653-2502-3 (Brockhaus, book with CD-ROM): EUR 49.90; ISBN 3-7653-2481-7 (Brockhaus, book without CD-ROM): EUR 39.80 [04-1-308]

At first glance it appears that Brockhaus has produced competing works, but this is not the case. Der Brockhaus, Recht is intended for the layperson, while Alpmann-Brockhaus, Fachlexikon Recht is aimed at the legal expert.

Der Brockhaus, Recht appears in the series Brockhaus-Sachlexika and contains an impressive 4,200 entries, providing the layperson with answers to questions in all essential legal areas in clear, understandable language, according to the publisher. Special emphasis is given to social, tax, family, and consumer law. The basis of this work is Brockhaus, Die Enzyklopädie (see reviews of volumes 1-13 in RREA 3:78 and 4:35, and of volumes 14-24 in RREA 5:27), from which the keywords are taken and partially modified for the sake of the intended audience. Der Brockhaus, Recht contains condensed versions of articles from Brockhaus, Die Enzyklopädie, sample forms for various types of legal business, e.g., marriage contract, used car purchase, and will, and a 12-page introduction to the German legal system. The material is well-suited to a work designed for the layperson. Information about recent legal reforms exists only as links to internet sites from the web site, so currency is an issue with this resource.

The situation is different with Alpmann-Brockhaus, Fachlexikon Recht, whose articles are updated quarterly online at www.fachlexikon-recht.de. This service is all the more impressive in connection with the CD-ROM that may be purchased with the book. The CD-ROM in combination with internet connectivity allows the user to download changes to articles and newly contributed articles, and to integrate the updates into the electronic encyclopedia. Legal professionals can depend on this resource for current information in all areas of law, covered by approximately 11,000 entries. Articles address both theory and practice; entry terms are connected through a web of references; all entry terms are highlighted in blue, whether occurring as a primary entry or within an article entered under another term; the work offers many user-friendly “see” references from synonyms to form of entry and from subheadings to primary headings; and longer texts are clearly subdivided through the use of boldly typeset terms. The Alpmann-Brockhaus is an outstanding reference work for law students and practicing legal professionals.

The Alpmann-Brockhaus may be purchased as the book alone or as a media package of book and CD-ROM. The CD-ROM is identical to the book and offers a search function, as well as the ability to update, copy, mark, and save information. The use of these functions requires some technical know-how, and a user’s guide is sorely missed. Despite this limitation, the CD-ROM offers many advantages over the book alone. The publisher does not offer the CD-ROM separate from the book. [lf/rm]

Das Reichskammergericht und seine Richter: Verfassung und Sozialstruktur eines höchsten Gerichts im Alten Reich [The Imperial Superior Court and Its Magistrates: Constitution and Social Structure of One of the Highest Courts of the Holy Roman Empire]. Sigrid Jahns. Köln [et al.]: Böhlau. 25 cm. (Quellen und Forschungen zur höchsten Gerichtsbarkeit im Alten Reich, 26). [04-2-546]

Pt. 2. Biographies. 2 vols. 2003. lxii, 698, vi, 701-1,466 p. + CD-ROM. ISBN 3-412 06503-X: EUR 119

Part 1 of this work, the narrative portion, which will be based on a postdoctoral thesis from 1990-91, remains to be published. It will, however, also draw heavily from part 2, the two-volume biographical portion, which covers 128 judges who served on or were nominated to the Imperial Superior Court between the years 1740 and 1806 (the year the Holy Roman Empire ceased to exist). The biographies contain basic reference data including birth and death dates, family details, educational attainments, honors, and publications, plus information about the judge’s social standing, professional career, and nomination(s) to the Court. Biographies are arranged chronologically by nominating jurisdiction. An index provides access to such topics as “personal wealth” and “dismissal due to corruption.” The accompanying CD-ROM offers the text in PDF format, as well as a keyword index with the page numbers for each word. [sh/gw]

Richter und Staatsanwälte jüdischer Herkunft in Preußen im Nationalsozialismus: eine rechtstatsächliche Untersuchung; eine Dokumentation [Judges and Attorneys of Jewish Descent in Prussia Under National Socialism: A Factual Judicial Inquiry; A Documentation]. Hans Bergemann and Simone Ladwig-Winters, for the Federal Ministry of Justice. Köln: Bundesanzeiger-Verlagsgesellschaft, 2004. 395 p. 25 cm. (Bundesanzeiger, 56. 2004, 82a; Rechtstatsachenforschung). ISBN 3-89817-352-6: EUR 45 [04-2-548]

Jüdische Richter am Kammergericht nach 1933: eine Dokumentation [Jewish Judges on the Superior Court after 1933: A Documentation]. Hans Bergemann and Simone Ladwig-Winters for the Kammergericht. Köln [et al.]: Heymann, 2004. viii, 162 p. ill. 23 cm. ISBN 3-452-25833-5: EUR 15 [04-2-549]

The two publications reviewed here have much in common in addition to their authors: all 50 Jewish judges of the Berlin Superior Court who are portrayed in the second publication are also listed in the larger first collection. On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the introduction of the “Law to Reestablish the Professional Civil Service” (Gesetz zur Wiederherstellung des Berufsbeamtentums, 7 April 1933), the Federal Ministry of Justice asked the two authors to gather data on all of the Jewish judges and public prosecutors in Prussia who lost their positions as a result of the coercive measures of the time and then the outright ban on civil service for Jews, enacted in 1935. There are 536 names listed in the volume on Jewish judges and attorneys in Prussia, including some of mixed race. Short biographies of all 536 are preceded by an excellent introduction of over 100 pages, in which we learn of the steps and measures used to exclude these professionals from their positions and what happened to them under Nazism as well as after the war, if they survived. The volume is supplemented by a key to abbreviations, lists of sources and literature, and indexes of personal names and place names, plus an appendix dealing with persecuted jurists from 10 other German cities. All components demonstrate exemplary work. From beginning to end it is a gripping read, despite the fact that the authors were no longer able to interview eyewitnesses. Even two generations later, the stories fill one with a feeling of deep shame. If we look for the purpose and value of such books, it is that this period of history, 70 and more years later, is an indelible part of Germany’s identity and needs to be kept in mind both as a warning and as a memorial to all those who suffered and died at the hands of racism. Even the non-historian will find these stories compelling.

The volume on the Superior Court in Berlin, which had been in existence since at least 1468, documents the treatment of Jews, who were excluded from becoming judges at this court right up to 1918. The 50 personal portraits of Jewish judges who came in the following years and were then excluded after 1933 show in more detail than in the other volume the individuals’ origins, which universities they attended, their publications, their legal specialties, their careers, and the phases of their persecution, which ended either in emigration or in a concentration camp. [frh/hh]

Lexikon der Geheimdienste im 20. Jahrhundert: mit 1465 Abbildungen und Organigrammen [Dictionary of Secret Service Organizations in the 20th Century, with 1,465 Illustrations and Organization Charts]. Helmut Rower, Stefan Schäfer, and Matthias Uhl. München: Herbig, 2003. 527 p. ill. 25 cm. ISBN 3-7766-2317-9: EUR 39.90 [04-1-309]

This dictionary’s 4,000 entries for topics and a similar number for persons fall into six categories: (1) survey articles on countries or time periods; (2) articles on specific secret service organizations (usually under the acronym); (3) names of secret service operations; (4) terms in the field; (5) legal concepts; and (6) slang expressions. Bibliographic references are very sparse, and references to archival material even sparser. All are restricted to German-language works, a fact explained perhaps by the statement on the book jacket that the emphasis of the dictionary is on the German secret services and on those of countries whose spy efforts were concentrated on Germany. Possibly not as unique as the dust jacket asserts, it does have many more entries than the Internationales Geheimdienst-Lexikon (Berlin, 1993). [sh/vh]

Handbuch der Diplomatie 1815-1963: auswärtige Missionschefs in Deutschland und deutsche Missionschefs im Ausland von Metternich bis Adenauer [Reference Manual of Diplomacy, 1815-1963: Foreign Chiefs of Mission in Germany and German Chiefs of Mission Abroad, from Metternich to Adenauer]. Tobias C. Bringmann. München: Saur, 2001. xlviii, 506 p. 25 cm. ISBN 3-598-11431-1: EUR 138 [04-2-550]

Spanning the years between the Congress of Vienna and the retirement of Konrad Adenauer as West German Chancellor, this work takes up where the international Repertorium der diplomatischen Vertreter aller Länder seit dem Westfälischen Frieden (1648) (Zürich, vol.1, 1936 and vol. 2, 1950; Graz, vol. 3, 1965) leaves off, though only with regard to diplomatic missions to and from the German-speaking states. Compiled from the appropriate reference works and archival materials, the information is arranged by country in alphabetical order and includes official state names with dated name changes; locations of diplomatic missions; and names, nationalities, and tenures of mission chiefs. Entries for the German-speaking states are more extensive, including capital cities, land area, and population, as well as lists of heads of state, heads of government, and foreign ministers. A separate sequence for the German-speaking states would have improved ease of use.

An index provides access to places, persons, and topics. Locations of a country’s missions can be found in the detailed table of contents. The introduction offers information about the position of mission chief (including legal aspects) and the participation of women in the diplomatic corps. [sh/gw]

Preußische Diplomaten im 19. Jahrhundert: Biographien und Stellenbesetzungen der Auslandsposten 1815 bis 1870 [Prussian Diplomats in the 19th Century: Biographies and Appointments to Foreign Posts, 1815-1870]. Johann Caspar Struckmann and Eckart Henning. Reprint of 1st ed. Berlin: Trafo-Verlag Weist, 2003. 449 p. 21 cm. ISBN 3-89626-391-9: EUR 69.80 [04-2-551]

Like Bringmann’s Handbuch der Diplomatie (see RREA 10:230), Preußische Diplomaten im 19. Jahrhundert provides reference information for the diplomatic service beyond 1815, but the focus is on biographical data, and the scope is limited to Prussia. The biographies of 227 diplomats (of various ranks) run from one-half to two pages and include family background, offices and honors, and a timeline of education and career, as well as a list of publications (if any), sources, and secondary literature. An index of diplomatic posts is divided into member states of the German Federation, other European countries, and all other countries, with each group arranged alphabetically and names of mission chiefs highlighted; there is also an index of all persons mentioned. The introduction provides background information and an assessment of the available biographical data. [sh/gw]

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