Decision-making in Early Modern Court Proceedings: A German-English Comparison, 16th to 19th centuries (C04)

• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History ; Principles of Law and Jurisprudence
• Term: from 2015 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 252080619

The project examines civil litigation with respect to economic and commercial issues. It focuses on the activities of the courts as well as on the argumentation of litigants for the need to make decisions. In this connection, it poses the question of how those involved worked out legal solutions when both facts and the legal basis were in dispute. Decision-making is thereby reconstructed as a contingent process. For this purpose, the variety of court systems and trial procedures in Germany and England between the 16th and 19th centuries offers good opportunities for comparative research.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1150: Cultures of Decision-Making
• Applicant Institution: Universität Münster
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. André Johannes Krischer; Professor Dr. Peter Oestmann