THE HISTORY OF THE DIVISION OF WORLD HISTORY
OF STATE AND LAW AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WROCŁAW
The Division of World History of State and Law formerly the Department has functioned since the formation of the Faculty of Law of the University of Wrocław in 1945 as one of once three and now four departments of the Institute of History of State and Law. Its beginnings date back to 1950, when the Department of History of Western European Law, managed by Iwo Jaworski, was incorporated into the complex of History and Law Departments. In 1969 it was transformed into a division of the Institute of History of State and Law. The Division was managed by four heads, whose terms of office coincided with the milestones in the department history. From that perspective, the history of the Division can be divided into four periods: Iwo Jaworski’s pioneer period 1945–1959, Leszek Winowski’s development period 1959–1979, Edmund Klein’s transitional period 1979–2001, and Marian Ptak’s contemporary period after 2001. The Division’s academic staff members have been involved in ever-evolving scientific activities, significantly exceeding the didactic curriculum of the unit, focused on the world history of state and law. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the Division, the research conducted there crosses the boundaries between the Polish history and the history of other countries; between history of state and history of law; and between ancient history and contemporary times.