Louis Theodor Kipp (7 March 1862 – 2 April 1931) was a German jurist who is perhaps best known for his theory of "double nullity", under which a null contract can be challenged in some circumstances. He also made important contributions to family law and inheritance law.

Life

Theodor Kipp was born in 1862. He studied law at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

with

Rudolf von Jhering Caspar Rudolph Ritter von Jhering (also Ihering) (22 August 1818 – 17 September 1892) was a German jurist. He is best known for his 1872 book ''Der Kampf ums Recht'' (''The Struggle for Law''), as a legal scholar, and as the founder of a ...

and at the

Leipzig University Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...

with

Bernhard Windscheid Bernhard Windscheid (26 June 1817 – 26 October 1892) was a German jurist and a member of the pandectistic school of law thought. He became famous with his essay on the concept of a legal action, which sparkled a debate with that is said to ...

. He earned his doctorate in 1883, was admitted as a lawyer in Leipzig in 1887, and obtained a position as an associate professor at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

. In 1889 he was appointed professor of Roman and civil law at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

, and in 1893 became professor of Roman and civil law at the

University of Erlangen A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. From 1899 to 1900 he was rector of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg. He edited the

Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch The ''Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch'' (, ), abbreviated BGB, is the civil code of Germany. In development since 1881, it became effective on 1 January 1900, and was considered a massive and groundbreaking project. The BGB served as a template in sev ...

(Civil Code) before it came into force in 1900. From 1901 Kipp taught at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

. In 1914 he replaced the physicist

Max Planck Max Karl Ernst Ludwig Planck (, ; 23 April 1858 – 4 October 1947) was a German theoretical physicist whose discovery of energy quanta won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1918. Planck made many substantial contributions to theoretical p ...

as rector of the university. In 1914 Kipp was one of the signatories to the letter "To the Civilized World" signed by 93 German professors, known as the

Manifesto of the Ninety-Three The "Manifesto of the Ninety-Three" (originally "To the Civilized World" by "Professors of Germany") is a 4 October 1914 proclamation by 93 prominent Germans supporting Germany in the start of World War I. The Manifesto galvanized support for the w ...

, in which the signatories disclaimed responsibility by Germany for starting

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(1914–18), denied improper action by Germany in invading Belgium, and denied violation of international law. Kipp was rector of the University of Berlin until 1915. He was chairman of the Berlin Law Society from 1929 to 1931. Theodor Kipp died at Ospedaletti on the Italian Riviera on 2 April 1931.

Work

Kipp published a history of the sources of Roman law in 1896, which ran into several editions. He edited the 8th and 9th editions of

's textbook on the Law of Pandects (''Pandektenrecht''). Kipp is best known for his theory of "double nullity", where a contract that is void for some reason could still be challenged. This was only gradually accepted, but later came to be used in many areas, ranging from labor law to consumer law. He wrote several monographs on legal history and civil law, and made important contributions to family law (1912) and inheritance law (1911).

Publications

Kipp's publications include: * * * * * * *

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kipp, Louis Theodor 1862 births 1931 deaths People from Erlangen University of Göttingen alumni Leipzig University alumni Academic staff of the University of Halle Academic staff of the University of Kiel Academic staff of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin 19th-century German lawyers 19th-century German writers 20th-century German lawyers 20th-century German writers 19th-century German male writers 20th-century German male writers