Hans Kelsen (1881-1973), a scientist of Jewish origin born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire and driven out of Germany by the Nazis in 1933, who found his new home in exile in the USA, is still one of the most debated legal theorists on a global scale more than 40 years after his death. He is one of the very few jurists who have gained worldwide recognition outside their German-speaking circle and have had a lasting and even in the Anglosphere more than negligible influence on the legal discourse in both East and South Europe, in East Asia as well as in Latin America.
Despite its worldwide importance, there is no edition of his scattered opera omnia, which has appeared in many languages. With the “Hans Kelsen Werke” the complete oeuvre of Kelsen is made accessible in a historical-critical hybrid edition. In collaboration with the HKI, all of Kelsen's works are edited in chronological order and in the language of their (first) publication. Thus, Kelsen's writings from the fields of legal theory and philosophy of law, constitutional law and international law, state and constitutional theory, political theory, and social anthropology become accessible in their respective context of origin. At the same time, their significance for the entire work is recognizable. With the historical-critical hybrid edition of Kelsen's works, jurisprudence is breaking new ground.