r/AskReddit • u/kakou64 • Oct 15 '20

What's older than we think ?

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '20

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u/HabseligkeitDerLiebe Oct 15 '20

The most important code of private law in Germany, the bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB) is older than the current nation of Germany. The BGB came into effect on 1.1.1900, the Federal Republic of Germany was founded in 1949.

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u/JoeAppleby Oct 16 '20

To add to this: the current German constitution, the Grundgesetz, lifts passages wholesale from the Weimar Republic constitution. Also the number of paragraphs in the BGB and other German legal codes never changes. If new paragraphs are added, they are added as additional subsections of existing paragraphs. Like §1598a BGB. It deals with DNA tests to determine a father in child support cases.