author
Georg Jellinek
1851–1911
A leading thinker in public law, he helped shape modern ideas about the state, rights, and the relationship between law and society. His work still matters to readers interested in constitutional theory and legal philosophy.
1 Audiobook
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of Citizens
by Georg Jellinek
About the author
Born in Leipzig on June 16, 1851, Georg Jellinek became one of the most influential legal and political theorists writing in German. He studied in Vienna, Heidelberg, and Leipzig, and later taught at universities including Vienna, Basel, and Heidelberg.
Jellinek is especially remembered for his work in public law and legal philosophy. Britannica highlights his view of law as an "ethical minimum," while his best-known book, Allgemeine Staatslehre (General Theory of the State), became a major reference point for later debates about sovereignty, the state, and constitutional order.
He died in Heidelberg on January 12, 1911. More than a century later, he is still read for the way he connects legal rules with political life and for his lasting influence on the study of the modern state.