Volker Unverfehrt, Die sächsische Läuterung. Entstehung, Wandel und Werdegang bis ins 17. Jahrhundert (Studien zur europäischen Rechtsgeschichte 317), Frankfurt am Main: Vittorio Klostermann 2019, X, 328 S., ISBN 978-3-465-04388-1.
In addition to the
appeal, the Läuterung (clarification
review) was a further ordinary legal remedy of civil proceedings in early
modern Saxony. The over 500-year history of this legal institute only came to
an end with the enactment of the Reichsjustizgesetze
(Reich Justice Laws) 1877/1879 and then was promptly forgotten. Given the fragmentary
state of research, Volker Unverfehrt reconstructs – closely based on the
sources – the development of this legal instrument in his book and shows that
earlier forms of leuteratio in
medieval German legal practice point to their use as a mere clarification of
judgement. Later, the institution of Läuterung
became established in the layman's verdicts (used to decide interpretational
disputes regarding a first verdict) before it transformed into a clarification
review against court rulings on the same jurisdictional level toward the end of
the 15th century. This work examines the reasons for both the change and
longevity of Läuterung from the 14th
to the 17th century and represents a stimulating contribution to the history of
the Saxon legal space (Rechtsraum). More.
