Macht und Gerichtsbarkeit: Eine rechtsvergleichende Studie zu herrschaftlichen Justizreformen in Neapel und Mailand im 18. Jahrhundert

Luca von Bogdandy

doi:10.5771/9783465146766

Summary

In the Italian territories of Naples and Milan during the 18th century, the judicial system was a key focus of reform efforts aimed at integrating the courts more closely into the sphere of influence of the respective territorial rulers. Drawing on three reform projects from each territory, the book traces the institutional changes within the courts. It reconstructs these reforms as historically open processes of negotiation, thereby offering a new perspective that takes account of the complexity of these processes. The study shows that these judicial reforms were not the work of individual ‘enlightened’ rulers, but rather the expression of an institutional and social struggle among various actors for power and influence over the courts. This doctoral thesis was awarded the Werner Pünder Prize by Goethe University Frankfurt am Main in 2025.