Hiermit wird der Vortrag, den ich am 20. Januar 1971 in der Klasse fur Geisteswissenschaften der Rheinisch-Westfalischen Akademie der Wissen schaften gehalten habe, im Druck vorgelegt. Die ursprungliche Fassung ist betrachtlich erweitert und der Gang der Untersuchung stellenweise modi fiziert worden. Gemass einer mit dem damaligen Sekretar der Klasse, Herrn Prof. Kotting, und seinem Nachfolger im Amt, Herrn Prof. Dihle, getrof fenen Absprache sind hierbei auch die Beitrage zu der dem Vortrag folgenden Diskussion verwertet worden. An ihr haben sich als Mitglieder der Akade mie oder geladene...

The problem of a monetary union is now before the Common Market authorities, in relation with the problem of a politieal union. We must define the monetary institution to be attained and eoneeive the sueeessive steps of progress. For the development of the market, money must be an instrument of integration. The final aim must be a eommon eurreney, in a eurreney area submitted to a eommon eeonomie poliey. This eurreney should be unbreakable, but a system alike to the Federal Reserve System would be advisable, rather than an unitary system. The first "technieal" steps include a reduetion of the...

In 1740, two monarchs acceeded to the throne: in Prussia it was King Frederic II, surnamed the Great (1740-1786) and in Austria the Empress Maria Theresia (1740-1780). This signified for both states the breakthrough of the state theory founded on rationalism and naturallaw which, in the final analysis, can be traced back in Germany to Samuel Baron von Pufen dorf (1632-1694). It superseded the older baroque concept of the state based on religious and patriarchal aspects. In Prussia, Frederic the Great identified hirns elf in his own works with this new concept of the state. Toward the end of...

During the last decade or so there has been a shift in evaluating Com munist China from a more Soviet influenced view to a "taking-China-much more-serious" one. China seems to follow her own line again in contrast to Soviet Russian models of the recent past. The question raised in this paper aims therefore at defining something like a common Chinese pattern of change which involves decline of past traditions together with the develop ment of new ones. In order to show this, three outstanding examples of Confucianist reactions to the new situation are described from about 1860 down to 1920,...

A common type of litigation involves claims by executors and adminis trators or, in civil law countries, heirs and residuary legatees against donees who have received gifts mortis causa from a deceased. The transfer of property by way of gift follows different rules from those applied to testamentary dispositions. In particular, a will must be in writing, whereas a gift may be oral if followed by actual delivery. Since most gifts are made orally or, at least, do not satisfy the formal require ments of a testamentary disposition and, moreover, gifts mortis causa are often made shortly before...

Im Jahre 1954 wurden die damals schon ein Jahrhundert andauernden Be muhungen um ein neues Strafgesetzbuch in osterreich wieder aufgenommen. Sie fuhrten von einem Kommissionsentwurf uber zwei Ministerialentwurfe und eine Regierungsvorlage 1968 (Alleinregierung der OVP) zur Regie rungsvorlage 1971 (Alleinregierung der SPO). Die Entwicklung bis 1968 gab Wesentliches vom Reformbestreben der Strafrechtskommission preis. Die Regierungsvorlage 1971 ist dagegen reformfreudiger, als es die Straf rechtskommission war. Der deutsche Alternativentwurf 1966 und die beiden Reformgesetze 1969 hatten darauf...