The German Civil Code is divided into five books. The first book is the General Part. Its rules are vor die Klammer gezogen, placed before the bracket, as in mathematics. With some limits, they apply to all four books that follow.
German law students learn this as das Prinzip des Vor-die-Klammer-Ziehens, the principle of placing rules before the bracket. A study guide for the law exam names the purpose: to avoid repetition in the code.