GERMAN Cone. In the current which swept over Europe during the sixteenth century, substituting, as Professor Sohm phrases it, "the revived spirit of antiquity for mediaeval conceptions and ideas," Germany participat ed in the changes which took place in all de partments of science. Then the Roman law was "received" in that country, and from that time it has been a controlling factor in the jurisprudence of the countries which form the German Empire. In certain territo rial limits over the Prussian Land recht (see PRUSSIAN Cour) held sway "the formal validity of the Corpus Juris Civilis has been expressly set aside," but even there "the force of principles of law has nevertheless remained substantially unim paired within large departments of German jurisprudence." Particularly is the science of the Roman private law imbedded in the German jurisprudence, and indeed the exist ence of law as a science in Germany dates from the introduction of the Roman law. There were no preconceived ideas with which to conflict, and it was accepted by a national intellect unprejudiced by any preconceived ideas. See Prussian Code, infra.
• The completion of twenty-five years of the life of the Empire has been made the occa sion of the construction and promulgation of a new German code which has been in the course of preparation for several years. It is an example for the most part of anteced ent laws, though of an arrangement novel in various respects. The civil code, having passed the Reichstag and received the ap proval of the emperor, was duly promulgated August 19, 1896, to go into effect January 1, 1900, at the same time with other special codes,. including 'those of Civil Procedure (1877), Insolvency, Assignments, Arbitrations, and the like. See Guide to Law of Germany, published by the Library of Congress (1912).
There is an English translation of "The Civil Code of the German Empire" by Wal ter Loewy, published by a joint Committee of Pennsylvania Bar Association and Uni versity of Pennsylvania, 1909.
F. W. Maitland said of the Civil Code: "Never yet, I think, has so much first-rate brain power been put into any actual legisla tion ;" 3 Collected Papers 474.