History of the Association
Legal and historical sciences are based on communication. This is a true statement that triggered the idea of founding an Association for Young Legal Historians. The yearly European Forum of Young Legal Historians has been the breeding ground, providing a "market" for scientific exchange of ideas and as a peek of this process, the Association for Young Legal Historians was born in Seville, 2007. These annual forums are usually organized by young researchers of their kind and the purpose of these conferences has always been to give a possibility for young legal historians to give an account of their scientific research results.
The roots of the Association were stated by the annually organized European Forum of Young Legal Historians. The idea of such a scientific forum first appeared in Frankfurt in 1992 and 1993 under the patronage of the Max Planck Institut für Europäische Rechtsgeschichte. From that time onwards, forums started to become a feature, which can also be noticed by the increasing number of participants.
In 1995, the conference of young legal historians obtained its official name: European Forum of Young Legal Historians, and since then it also became popular to give a title for these forums around which the thematic of the presentations may be arranged. The first forum organized in Halle an der Saale in Germany had the subtitle "Legal History and the Enlightenment". The 1996 forum in Berlin had the title "Law and Social Transformation"; the 1997 forum at the Karl Franzens Universität of Graz was titled "Laws without borders – Borders without Laws". In 1998, Munich hosted the forum under the title "Continuity and Rupture in the European Legal History". The fifth forum was held in Zurich in 1999 with the title "Legal (Hi)stories?" and the 2000 forum in Leipzig had the theme "Ius commune propriumque: Saxonia in the Mirror of the Law". The forum in Zurich drew 120 participants from 13 countries. The first forum of the 21st century was held in Vienna in 2001 with the title "Ad Fontes", followed by Osnabrück in 2002 ("Europe and its Regions"), Budapest in 2003 ("The New Europe and its Traditions"), and Warsaw in 2004 ("The European Legal Community: Between Tradition and Perspectives"). In 2005, Lucerne hosted the forum under "Legal Transfer in History" — the first conference where presentations on Turkish, Islamic and Caucasian legal history were given.
In 2006, the forum returned to its origin at the Max Planck Institut für Europäische Rechtsgeschichte in Frankfurt with the motto "Remembering and Forgetting." It was here agreed that the forums should open more towards southern Europe and broaden their thematic scope to include a wider spectrum of legal history research.
This led to the young legal historians of the University of Seville organizing the next forum in Seville under the patronage of the Fundación Tres Culturas del Mediterraneo, with the motto "Crossing Legal Cultures" — the first forum to put equal attention on Jewish and Islamic culture alongside European traditions. The XIVth forum was organized by the legal historians of the University of Pécs.
Statutes of the AYLH
Article 1 – Name, Seat and Status
This association is called the "Association of Young Legal Historians (AYLH) / Vereinigung Junger RechtshistorikerInnen (VJR)". It is established under Artt. 60–79 of the Swiss Civil Code (ZGB) and based in Zürich (Switzerland). The society's correspondence and general assemblies shall be conducted in the English language.
Article 2 – Objectives
The society is established to organise the annual conference "European Forum of Young Legal Historians" and to promote academic legal history in Europe and beyond. The Forum shall provide a platform for young researchers to present their research results in the field of legal history. Only professors holding a chair in legal history are, as a general rule, excluded from participation. The results of the conference are published in the series "Yearbook of Young Legal Historians / Jahrbuch Junge Rechtsgeschichte".
Article 3 – Membership
Membership is open to individuals and organisations who wish to support the objectives of the society. Membership commences with the payment of the annual contribution. Non-payment will lead to the loss of membership. Members may leave the society through express statement.
Article 4 – Organs
The organs of the AYLH are: (1) the General Assembly; (2) the Executive Board; (3) the Auditors.
Article 5 – General Assembly
The GA is the supreme organ of the AYLH. Its powers include the exclusion of members, the amendment of these statutes, supervision over the activities of the organs, and decisions on all matters not assigned to other organs. All members present are entitled to vote.
Article 6 – Convocation and Procedure of the GA
The ordinary GA is convened after every Forum. Extraordinary GA are convened by the executive board or by one fifth of all members. Decisions are taken on a majority vote of the members present, with the speaker having a casting vote in the event of a tie.
Article 7 – The Executive Board
The executive board consists of the members of the organisational committees of the previous and subsequent years, chaired by the committee preparing the following conference. The treasurer collects and administers all contributions and issues annual financial statements based on IFRS.
Article 8 – Accounting
The accounting year is the calendar year. Resources consist primarily of members' annual contributions, voluntary contributions, and legacies. The annual financial statement is examined by two auditors elected by the GA.
Article 9 – Liquidation
Liquidation is performed according to Artt. 76–78 ZGB, in accordance with the provisions established for cooperatives (Art. 58 ZGB).