A very short history
The German Law Archive became the first law website at the University of Oxford when it went on-line in December 1997 and was publicised in March 1998. It was officially inaugurated in a ceremony at Gray’s Inn Great Hall, London, on 4 November 1998, by the German Ambassador in London, HE Gebhardt von Moltke. In February 1999, the German Law Archive moved from the University of Oxford network to its own domain, iuscomp.org, which also hosts the Oxford University Comparative Law Forum.
The German Law Archive is maintained by Gerhard Dannemann (founding editor) and Eva Grotheer (assistant editor, sucessor of Christoph König and Lorenz Böttcher).
What is the German Law Archive?
The German Law Archive
- publishes cases, statutes and literature on German Law in English language
- helps you to find cases, statutes and literature on German law in English language by publishing bibliographies and by running a database on German law in English language
What is the aim of the German Law Archive?
The aim is to provide access to German law to those who feel more comfortable with English, and to help those who have to explain German law in English language. Generally, it wants to make German law accessible to any interested user of the Internet.
The German Law Archive is designed to match this function. Very few graphics, no sounds, no movie clips and no traffic counters on our pages mean fast loading times and allow access with just about any browser and just about any hardware. We have to use some more sophisticated software for the database and apologise for any access problems this may cause. If you experience any such problems, please let us know.
The German Law Archive is, and is intended to remain, a free website.
How large is the German Law Archive?
The size keeps increasing. As of mid 2014, more than 200 codes and ordinances were published in the German Law Archive. In addition, details about 1,200 publications about German law were registered in the German Law Archive Database. If printed as a book, the total would amount to well over 3,000 pages.
What about visitors?
They are very welcome to use and to contribute to the German Law Archive.
What information do we have about visitors?
The server on which the German Law Archive runs keeps a log file. In addition, if you register for full use of the discussion forum, whatever information you provide about yourself will be stored there. The discussion forum also uses a “cookie” to verify user authorisation. The “cookie” expires after each session. We do not publish or sell any information about individual users.