Research report 2004 - Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory

Law and technology in the 19th century

Authors
Vec, Miloš
Departments

Recht in der Industriellen Revolution (MPG) (PD Dr. Miloš Vec)
MPI für europäische Rechtsgeschichte, Frankfurt/Main

Summary
The intensive response of the law to the challenges posed by technology & industry in the 19th c. led to profound societal change. No longer merely responding to the presumed risks of industrialisation, law actively participated in shaping modern industrial societies. It formed an institutional framework for the use of new technologies and laid a foundation for the expansion of international business relationships. New fields of law & structures of legislation emerged. Around 1900, the emerging industrial state served as a laboratory for new patterns of legislation & implementation of law.

For the full text, see the German version.

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