Constitutional law and private law are closely connected already in the beginning of constitutionalism. The formative phase of bourgeois society furnishes a great variety of source material which provides the basis for analysing how the relationship between the two fields of law developed further.

Constitutional history and the history of private law are usually dealt with separately, although this does not do their subjects justice. Constitutional and private law were closely connected even before the horizontal effect of fundamental rights was discovered in the twentieth century. However, their relationship changes depending on the context. The situation in France where the transition from monarchical absolutism and feudal society to bourgeois state and society was brought about by an already emancipated bourgeoisie through a revolutionary act differed from that in Germany where change emanated from the state and required a lengthy, legally-organised and evolutionary process. Bourgeois society's formative phase between revolution and restoration (1789 and 1820) furnishes a great variety of source material which could well provide the basis for analysing how the relationship between the two fields of law developed further.

Autorentext
Geboren 1937; em. Professor für Öffentliches Recht an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; 1987-99 Richter des Bundesverfassungsgerichts im Ersten Senat; 2001-07 Rektor des Wissenschaftskollegs zu Berlin.