7 As Hermann Heller has emphasized, this strictly disciplined type of administrative apparatus guaranteed “eine universale, zentral und planmässig regulierte Vereinheitlichung des staatlichen relevanten Handelns. This type of administration provided a potentially effective instrument for supervising and regulating all aspects of social life,^** which in itself was necessary if the tremendous economic resources required for the support of the public sector were to be found. It is significant that, as regards the majority of its tasks, the civilian administration was in constant contact with the military establishment. Tlie administrative tasks did not consist exclusively of financing the standing army and the navy, but also included such things as supervising the construction of fortifications and arsenals, and organizing the equipping and arming of the troops.-** The systematically arranged administrative organization established in the countries mentioned above had a collegial structure. The administration thus consisted of a number of colleges, each of which had special areas of responsibility defined in terms of function, rather than in terms of geographical regions. Colleges of revenue, for example, were given sole responsibility for the collection of taxes and the management of revenues, while colleges of commerce were to administer all matters concerning trade. As a rule, there were no hierarchial distinctions between the colleges; instead, the various colleges were equal in stature, and thus no college was allowed to act within the functional jurisdiction of any other college. Within its particular area, each college had jurisdiction throughout the entire realm, and this gave the administrative system a uniform structure. A college consisted, on the one hand, of a decision-making board of officers and, on the other, of an essentially executive base administration. The board was composed of a limited number of individuals, almost all of whom were of noble birth and many of whom had been trained in the law at some academy or university. The chairman of the board, who also served as the head of the college, was usually given the title of president, while the remaining members of the board were entitled councillors and assessors. The president chaired the board’s deliberations, but other members also had the right to make proposals. All decisions reached by the board were based on the principle of majority voting, with each member enjoying one vote. This system precluded the possibility that any one officer of the college would be able to undertake anything on his own. After they ” 18 Heller, III, 228. Bodo Dennewitz, Die Systeme dcs Verwaltungsrechts. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der modernen Verwizltungswissenschaft (Hamburg, 1948), 16. Gerhard Oestreich, “Zur Heeresverfassung der deutschen Territorien von 1500 bis 1800,” in idem. Geist und Gestalt des friihmodernen Staates. Ausgewählte Aufsätze (Berlin, 1969), 300.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjYyNDk=