VII. Vom objektiven Maßstab zum subjektiven Urteil

Abstract From an objective scale to a subjective verdict. The Role of the Judge in the work of Johann Oldendorp and the re-evaluation of the roman-canon law of evidence in Humanism and Protestant Reformation. The roman-canon law of procedure was based on the assumptions of the Church fathers that laws on jurisdiction would guarantee objective and just decisions. Humanism, however, relied on the assumption that education and knowledge would teach the individual; not general rules, but expertise would lead to cognition and justice. In order to save the traditional law of procedure, Johann Oldendorp, one of the most innovative Protestant lawyers, taught that the best educated judge with sufficient practical experience should still keep the promise of objective, just decisions. Although the ideas on hermeneutics had changed profoundly by then, this reasoning helped to find convincing verdicts in the procedure of the old roman-canon law.