Novels 1914-1916 to the General Civil Code of the Austrian Empire 1811

Abstract

The article is devoted to clarifying the reasons and prerequisites for the adoption of the Novels of 1914-1916 to the Austrian General Civil Code of 1811, a general characterization of their content and substantiation of their historical and legal significance.
 The author analyzed the state of problem processing; first of all, the author used the works of two professors of Lviv University of 20th century - the outstanding Polish civilian Ernest Till, who published the German text and the Polish translation of the Novel with his own explanations, as well as the prominent Ukrainian jurist Stanislav Dnistrіanskyі, who in 1919 translated the Code of 1811 and three Novels to it into Ukrainian. At the same time, the main attention in the article is given to the figure of the Austrian lawyer and statesman, professor of the University of Vienna, Joseph Unger, who presented the program of novelization of the Code of 1811 in his article of 1904 and later acted as its main developer at the head of the Special Commission.
 The author revealed the decisive influence of J. Unger on the spread of the historical school of law in the legal science of the Austrian monarchy, including its fundamental provisions regarding the reception of Roman law, the tradition of German pandectism; and, instead, critics of the theory of natural law; as well as on the introduction by scientists of a comparative legal approach in Austrian civil studies, thanks to which the reform of the General Civil Code of the Austrian Empire in 1811 was initiated. The author considered the 10-year codification process of changing the Code, which resulted in its novelization in 1914-1916.
 Therefore, the article elaborates the main content of the three Novels to the Code: the First Novel of October 12, 1914, the Second Novel of July 22, 1915, and the Third Novel of March 19, 1916, which made certain changes to personal, family, property, inheritance and obligation law. At the same time, the author stated that the revision of the General Civil Code of the Austrian Empire in 1811 did not fundamentally change its structure, nor the main principles and provisions, but was only aimed at adapting the Code to the contemporary conditions and needs.