City law

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City law is originally the imperial or sovereign prerogative (city shelf) by which a village or a suburban settlement was elevated to the city and was the epitome of the laws valid in the respective jurisdiction. In contrast, land law was mostly determined by the state rule. City law is not a uniform “city law”, but consists of several privileges (defeat right, customs) and individual rights, of which market law is usually the oldest. Minor towns are places with limited city rights.

The city law in the Central European area probably originates from Italian models, who in turn were based on the traditions of self-government of Roman cities. Today, “city law” in the DACH countries is no longer associated with special rights. Today, therefore, “city” is nothing more than a mere designation and/or name component of some communities.

Germany

The Middle Ages

The importance of German city law in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation justifies an emphasis on the German city law tradition. German city law gave the cities special urban autonomy in an international comparison. In the Middle Ages, it was connected to the German East Settlement and was exemplary not least for city (new) foundations in Eastern Europe.

City rights arose in Germany since the 10th century. They have standardised not only private law relationships, but also subjects of public law.

City law families
Often the right of one city was more or less completely received by others; Thus the city rights of Soest (the first city law demonstrably recorded in the German area), but especially the city rights of Magdeburg, Lübeck, Cologne and the imperial city of Nuremberg. The community of cities which have taken over the right of a city or by the city lord, is referred to as their city-law family.

The Lübische Stadtrecht was derived from the Soester law in 1160. Due to the supremacy of Lübeck in the Hanseatic League, it won the coastlines from Schleswig to the easternmost German settlements on the Baltic Sea.

Magdeburg law spread throughout the inland regions as far as Bohemia, Silesia, today's Slovakia (including the Zips) and Poland and as Kulm law through the German Order of Prussia. In Poland, Magdeburg city law was generally binding.
City law played an important role in the German East Settlement in the Middle Ages: colonists were recruited (or settled independently) on the condition that they could retain their own right in the places they founded. City law was initially essentially a market law, supplemented by municipal jurisdiction and fortification law. Only later did the city