The violent revolution of November 1918 had not settled the question of what to do with the property of Germany's now former ruling houses. Policy was left up to individual states, many of which made settlements involving some sort of seizure of property. The issue was settled indirectly on a federal level when the Weimar Constitution came into effect in August 1919. Article 153 stated that property could only be expropriated for public welfare and with appropriate compensation. The article was designed to protect property rights in general and was not directly aimed at solving the issue of princely expropriation. Nevertheless, it made the princes safe from the threat of losing their property without being compensated. In addition to this the courts of Germany had largely remained unchanged since the Imperial era and so usually sided with the princes when expropriation cases came up.