STAUB, HERMANN

STAUB, HERMANN (1856–1904), German jurist. Born in Nicolai, Upper Silesia, Staub practiced as a lawyer in Berlin and achieved considerable fame through his work Kommentar zum Deutschen Handelsgezetzbuch (1891–93; 1921–3212), a commentary on the new German commercial code. Here he explained the commercial code section by section and it became the leading work on the subject running into a number of editions. Many of Staub's interpretations were specifically approved by the German Supreme Court and his book was also considered an authoritative work in Austria. He wrote works on the law of contracts, company law, and the stock exchange and was a founder and editor of the legal magazine Deutsche Juristenzeitung. A proud Jew, Staub refused to convert to Christianity and used his influence to prevent a numerus clausus in the legal profession in Germany -BIBLIOGRAPHY: S. Kaznelson, Juden im deutschen Kulturbereich (1959), 650–1, 671; Wininger, Biog, 5 (1928), bibliography; AZDJ, 37 (1904), 438–9.