ABSTRACT
Do you agree with this comment on the work of Savigny in his role as founder of the German ‘historical school’ of jurisprudence?
Savigny shared with many of his country’s thinkers opposition to the French Revolution and its philosophical foundations. His reaction was to stress the significance of authority, tradition and the ‘creative force’ of a people’s ‘common consciousness’. Law emerged, he claimed, from a people’s ‘special genius’. An answer to the question should note the essence of Savigny’s teaching on the theme of the Volksgeist and should seek to show the background of his thesis within the setting of anti-revolutionary doctrine. The following skeleton plan is suggested:
Introduction – context of French Revolution – Savigny’s attitude to codification of law – law as product of the spirit of the people – significance of Roman legal doctrine – criticism of the Volksgeist theory – legislation according to Savigny – selectivity of his arguments – Savigny’s hostility to revolutionary doctrine – his opposition to rationalism – conclusion, Allen’s criticism in the light of the perversion of Savigny’s theories.
