Bernhard Windscheid (26 June 1817 – 26 October 1892[1]) was a German
jurist and a member of the
pandectistic school of law thought.
He became famous with his essay on the concept of a legal action, which sparkled a debate with
Theodor Muther [
de] that is said to have initiated the studies of the processal law as we know it today. Windscheid's thesis established the modern German law concept of Anspruch (roughly, a legally enforceable claim), distinguishing it from the
Roman law concept of actio.
His principal work was his Lehrbuch des Pandektenrechts, and this was the main source of inspiration for the German Civil Code – the
BGB. Between 1873 and 1883, Windscheid was part of the commission in charge of the drafting of the German Civil Code.
Additionally, Windscheid worked as a teacher at several universities in Germany and Switzerland, including
Basel,
Greifswald,
München,
Heidelberg, and
Leipzig.
Family
Bernhard Windscheid married the artist Auguste Eleanore Charlotte "Lotte" Pochhammer (1830–1918) on 4 November 1858.[2] Four recorded children resulted from this marriage. The eldest,
Käthe Windscheid (1859–1943) achieved prominence as a women's rights activist and as a pioneer of women's education.
Franz Windscheid [
de] (1862–1910) was also something of a pioneer in his chosen field: he was a
neurologist. The younger two children, Charlotte and Margarete, were twins.[3]
Published works
A full bibliography of Windscheid is provided by Felix Klein.[4] His major works include:
^Dr. Manfred Leyh (2013).
"Windscheid, Charlotte (geborene Pochhammer)". Biografie. Susann Hänel i.A. Stadt Leipzig (1000 Jahre Leipzig - 100 Frauenporträts). Retrieved 27 December 2018.
^Klein, Felix (2014). Bernhard Windscheid 26.6.1817–26.10.1892. Schriften zur Rechtsgeschichte. Vol. 168. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. pp. 450–458.
doi:
10.3790/978-3-428-54118-8.
ISBN9783428541188.
Further reading
Falk, Ulrich (1989). Ein Gelehrter wie Windscheid: Erkundungen auf den Feldern der sogenannten Begriffsjurisprudenz. Ius Commune Sonderheft (in German). Vol. 38. Frankfurt am Main: Klostermann.
ISBN978-3-465-01866-7.
Hamza, Gabor (2009). Entstehung und Entwicklung der modernen Privatrechtsordnungen und die römischrechtliche Tradition (in German). Budapest. pp. 193–199.
ISBN9789632840956.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)