The Registrar for the Government, Johann Josef Scotti from Düsseldorf, published the laws and bylaws of the Rhenish territories of the Old Reich between 1821 and 1836, at first on private initiative, later by official order. To do this, he drew on both unpublished material, i.e. material in archives and registries, as well as already published bylaws (law gazettes etc.). As the comprehensive printing of the entire material was not possible, he only incorporated the most important laws in full length as well as the laws and bylaws still valid in his time. Of the less important pieces, he only quoted detailed extracts or outlined the contents. The thus collected Provinzialgesetze (provincial laws) were published in five individual collections, each consisting of chronologically divided parts. In some collections, Johann Josef Scotti added regional subdivisions.
In cooperation with the Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Bonn four collections have been digitized, two at each of the libraries involved:
The 1st section contains 3,735 laws and bylaws, which were enacted between 1475 and 1815. They mainly concern the legal systems of the worldly territories, which, after the succession dispute for Jülich and Cleves in 1614, fell to the Wittelsbacher (1614 Palatinate-Neuburg, 1685 Electoral Palatinate, 1777 Bavaria). This section contains the laws and rules of the Duchy of Jülich (until the annexation to France in 1794), of the Duchy of Cleves (until it fell to Brandenburg in 1614) and of the Duchy or rather Grand Duchy of Berg (until 1814).
Digitized by the Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Bonn.
The 2nd section contains laws and bylaws from the Rhenish-Westphalian territories, which, after the end of the succession dispute for Jülich and Cleves in 1614, were attributed to the Elector Johann Sigismund of Brandenburg in the Treaty of Xanten. This section contains the laws of the Duchy of Cleves (from 1614 onwards) as well as the County of Mark. Both territories belonged to the Kingdom of Prussia at the end of the Old Reich in 1789.
Digitized by the Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf.
The 3rd section contains laws and bylaws from the Rhenish and Westphalian territories, which, until the end of the Old Reich, were under the secular rule of the Archbishop of Cologne. In the Rhineland, these territories consist of the Electorate of Cologne until its dissolution in 1802 (from 1794 until 1802 only the territories on the east bank of the Rhine), and in Westphalia, they consist of the so called Duchy of Westphalia (including the rule of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1802 to 1818) and the Vest Recklinghausen (including the rule of the Duke of Arenberg from 1802 to 1810).
Digitized by the Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Bonn.
The 4th section contains 922 laws and bylaws of the Electorate of Trier from 1310 to 1802.
Digitized by the Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Düsseldorf.
The 5th collection, which comprises the smaller rules of today’s Lands of Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, has not yet been digitized.
