Georg Jellinek

Who was Georg Jellinek?

Georg Jellinek was a German public lawyer, considered of Austrian origin. Along with Hans Kelsen and the Hungarian Félix Somló he belonged to the group of Austrian Legal Positivists and was considered to be "the exponent of public law in Austria“.

From 1867, Jellinek studied law, history of art and philosophy at the University of Vienna. He also studied philosophy, history and law in Heidelberg and Leipzig up until 1872. He was the son of Adolf Jellinek, the then famous preacher in Vienna's Jewish community. In 1872 he completed his Dr. phil. thesis in Leipzig and in 1874 also his Dr. jur. in Vienna.

In 1879 he qualified as a professor at the University of Vienna. Jellinek was later visiting professor of legal philosophy in Vienna, in 1881 he was named a member of the commission for state exams and one year later he published his seminal work, The Theory of the Unifications of States. In 1883 he was given the predigious title of Professor of Public Law at the University of Vienna. In 1889 he was duly given a professorship in Basel and left the academic service of Austria-Hungary.