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Grenzen der Regelungsmacht von Recht und hoheitlicher Herrschaft: Geld- und Bankenkrisen vom Spätmittelalter bis zur Einführung des Goldstandards


Thier, Andreas; North, Michael (2020). Grenzen der Regelungsmacht von Recht und hoheitlicher Herrschaft: Geld- und Bankenkrisen vom Spätmittelalter bis zur Einführung des Goldstandards. Rechtsgeschichte, 28:142-149.

Abstract

Monetary crises as well as disruptions of the financial system have been part of European history since the late Middle Ages. The essay argues that these developments reveal remarkable limitations to legal power and financial sovereignty: From the very beginning, the power to set monetary value was in the hands of the rulers, kings and queens, princes and even city councils. There were, however, legal limits to their discretion. These limits developed from the idea that the users of mints and money should not be at the mercy of their rulers when it came to monetary value, particularly concerning debasement and devaluation. While such legal rules did not always prove effective, fiscally driven devaluations were frequently without lasting impact due to the power of the market actors. Even when governments and rulers created intermediary entities like their own banks, their success on the financial markets was anything but certain. It was only with the establishment of central banks, not to mention international cooperation between central banks as well as governments, that states were finally able to achieve greater influence over market dynamics.

Abstract

Monetary crises as well as disruptions of the financial system have been part of European history since the late Middle Ages. The essay argues that these developments reveal remarkable limitations to legal power and financial sovereignty: From the very beginning, the power to set monetary value was in the hands of the rulers, kings and queens, princes and even city councils. There were, however, legal limits to their discretion. These limits developed from the idea that the users of mints and money should not be at the mercy of their rulers when it came to monetary value, particularly concerning debasement and devaluation. While such legal rules did not always prove effective, fiscally driven devaluations were frequently without lasting impact due to the power of the market actors. Even when governments and rulers created intermediary entities like their own banks, their success on the financial markets was anything but certain. It was only with the establishment of central banks, not to mention international cooperation between central banks as well as governments, that states were finally able to achieve greater influence over market dynamics.

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Additional indexing

Item Type:Journal Article, refereed, original work
Communities & Collections:02 Faculty of Law > Institute of Legal Sciences > Basic Subjects
Dewey Decimal Classification:340 Law
900 History
Scopus Subject Areas:Social Sciences & Humanities > History
Social Sciences & Humanities > Law
Uncontrolled Keywords:monetary law, financial market, currency, central banks, effectiveness of law,
Language:German
Date:2020
Deposited On:17 Feb 2021 08:49
Last Modified:09 Oct 2023 09:06
Publisher:Max Planck-Institut
Number of Pages:8
ISSN:1619-4993
OA Status:Gold
Free access at:Publisher DOI. An embargo period may apply.
Publisher DOI:https://doi.org/10.12946/rg28/142-149
  • Content: Published Version
  • Language: German
  • Licence: Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)