Hugo Sinzheimer

Hugo Sinzheimer (12 April 1875 in Worms, Germany-16 September 1945 in Bloemendaal-Overveen, the Netherlands) was a German legal scholar.

Sinzheimer was one of the first academics specializing in labour law; he published an introduction to this field ("Der korporative Arbeitsnormenvertrag") in 1907. He was one of the members of the Constitutional Convention of 1919, which promulgated the Weimar Constitution. As a major influence on the drafting of the labour law section of the constitution he is considered to be "the father of labour law" in Germany. He was inspired by the ideals of the dignity and liberty of every human being, and was a humanist in the widest sense of the word.

As a lawyer he frequently represented political and union-related groups. He joined the social-democratic SPD in 1914. From 1920 onward he was professor of labour law and sociology of law at Frankfurt University.

In 1933 Sinzheimer, who was Jewish, was forced to emigrate to the Netherlands. He survived the war after going into hiding. The Sinzheimer Institute of the University of Amsterdam's Law Department ( [http://www.sinzheimer.com Hugo Sinzheimer Institute] ) is named after him in his honour.