Fritz Schulz (born June 16, 1879 in Bolesławiec, Poland, then called Bunzlau, died November 12, 1957, Oxford) was a German jurist and legal historian. He was one of the 20th centuries' most important scholars in the field of Roman Law. The Nazis forced him to leave Germany and to emigrate to England due to his political stance and his Jewish origin. June 16 is the 167th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (168th in leap years), with 198 days remaining. ... 1879 (MDCCCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... BolesÅ‚awiec (-Polish, German: Bunzlau) is a town in southwestern Poland (Lower Silesia) with 41,300 inhabitants (2000). ... November 12 is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 49 days remaining. ... 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ... Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome. ...

Life

Schulz' parents were of Jewish descent, but had converted to Christianity. Schulz grew up in his native town in Lower Silesia and studied law in Berlin from 1899 to 1902, whe he passed the First State Examination in Law. He received the grade of Doctor iuris from the University of Freiburg im Breisgau in 1905. In the same year, Schulz obtained the habilitation. In 1910, Schulz was appointed to a full professorship in Innsbruck, Austria. From Innsbruck, Schulz moved on to posts in Kiel (1912), Goettingen (1916) and Bonn (1923). During his time in Goettingen, Schulz actively supported the Deutsche Demokratische Partei, a left-oft-center liberal party, which was among the staunchest supporters of the fragile democratic system in Germany. There is no institution called the University of Berlin, but there are four universities in Berlin, Germany: Humboldt University of Berlin (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) Technical University of Berlin (Technische Universität Berlin) Free University of Berlin (Freie Universität Berlin) Berlin University of the Arts (Universität der... A doctorate is an academic degree of the highest level. ... Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg was founded 1457 in Freiburg by the Habsburgs. ... Habilitation is a term used within the university system in France, Germany, Austria, and some other European countries such as the German-speaking part of Switzerland, in Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, and countries of former Soviet Union, such as Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Kirgizstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan... The Leopold-Franzens-Universität, more often simply called University of Innsbruck, is one of the major Austrian universities, offering a broad range of subjects. ... The University of Kiel, in full the Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (in short: CAU), is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. ... The Georg-August University of Göttingen (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, often called the Georgia Augusta) was founded in 1734 by George II, King of Great Britain and Elector of Hanover, and opened in 1737. ... The main building, viewed from the Hofgarten. ... The German Democratic Party, or Deutsche Demokratische Partei (DDP), was founded by leaders of the former Progressive Peoples Party (Fortschrittliche Volkspartei) and the left wing of the National Liberal Party (Nationalliberale Partei) in the early days of the Weimar Republic. ...

In 1931, Schulz accepted a call to the University of Berlin. At the time, a professorship in Berlin was considered the most prestigious post a legal scholar could achieve in his career.

However, Schulz's brilliant academic career was brutally interrupted when it had just reached its peak. In 1934, Schulz was forcefully transferred to the University of Frankfurt am Main and then forced into retirement in 1935. In spite of this, Schulz stayed in Germany. Only in 1939 he emigrated, first to the Netherlands and then to Oxford. In Oxford, Schulz managed to survive due to financial support from Oxford University Press. University of Frankfurt may refer to two (or three) German universities: the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main (Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) in Frankfurt am Main the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) (Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder)) in Frankfurt (Oder), or its historical predecessor...

Schulz did not return to Germany after the war. In 1947, he became a British subject. Schulz did, however, give a series of guest lectures at German universities after the war.

In 1949 received an honorary doctorate from the University of Frankfurt am Main. He was honoured with a Festschrift at the occasion of his 70th birthday. Schulz also became Honorary Professor a the University of Bonn (1951) and member of the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome (1952). In academia, a Festschrift (; plural, Festschriften, ) is a book honouring a respected academic. ... The Accademia dei Lincei, (literally the Academy of the Lynxes, but also known as the Lincean Academy), is located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rome, Italy. ...

Werner Flume, one of Germany's most influential jurists in the second half of the 20th century, is a pupil of Fritz Schulz.

Scholarly achievements

Schulz is best known today for his vivid and very readable works on Roman law and Roman legal science. Even though he followed the prevalent scientific trend of his day and tended to assume a large number of interpolations in the Roman texts, his contributions are still valuable and are cited frequently. His System der Rechte auf den Eingriffserwerb", an early article from 1909, is still seen as an important contribution to the German Law of Unjustified Enrichment today. Ancient texts come down to us mostly in late handwritten copies, themselves copied from early copies. ...

Works

• "System der Rechte auf den Eingriffserwerb". In: Archiv für die civilistische Praxis. Vol. 105 (1909) 1 sqq. (entire volume) (Schulz's only contribution to modern law, still a classic in the field of unjustified enrichment).
• Principles of Roman Law. Oxord 1936 (the English text of the last series of lectures Schulz gave in 1933 before the Nazis prohibited him to continue teaching).
• Classical Roman Law. Oxford 1951. Reprinted Aalen 1992, ISBN 3-511-09224-8.
• History of Roman Legal Science. Oxford 1953.

Literature

Wolfgang Ernst: Fritz Schulz (1879-1957). In: Jack Beatson, Reinhard Zimmermann (Eds.): Jurists Uprooted. German speaking Emigré Lawyers in Twentieth-century Britain. Oxford 2004, ISBN 0-19-927058-9. PP. 105-203.