298 — requesting a new, better examination, in some cases with a different judge and a different body of lay assessors {nämnd). — summoning a law-reader to account for his judgements and fining him. These measures probably had a great effect. When Göta High Court came into operation in 1635, the courts in the 78 judicial districts were presided over by 14 law-readers. These served simultaneously in an average of five or six different hundreds, often for a long sequence of years, so that a reprimand from the high court had a lasting effect in several hundreds. The law-readers were professionals who would scarcely repeat a mistake and thereby risk being censured or fined once again. The law-readers were treated with respect by both the lay assessors and the general public. They were given political influence when they were urged to steer the election of hundred representatives and the appeals sent by the hundred to the diet. Their theoretical education was in many cases inadequate, but they had practical knowledge of the law and were familiar with the traditions and conditions of peasant society. They were a small target group for the high court’s endeavours at further education. The law-reader system was abolished in 1680, when the original jurisdictional areas of Göta High Court were divided into 25, with a hundred governor in each. From now on he was to hear cases himself and reside within the judicial district. For the relation between the high court and the lower courts, the reformmeant nothing new in principle; the duties of referring, submitting judgement books, and inquiring in cases of doubt remained unchanged. Complaints from the high court about purely formal errors declined in number. However, the high court reversed the judgements of the lower courts to the same extent as they had done before the reform. 7. The concept of “the judicial revolution” has been launched by the British historians Bruce Lenman and Geoffrey Parker* to describe the transition from locally controlled justice intended to settle conflicts and reintegrate offenders, to a systemadministered and controlled by the state, withprofessional officials and with punishments adjusted to suit the seriousness of the crime. This transition coincides with the period studied in this thesis, and it is also reflected in the way Göta High Court handled criminal cases. The change is closely connected with the growth of the central government and the expansion of its institutions. This is most clearly marked in the establishment of the high courts, which decisively restricted the influence of the * Bruce Lenman and Geoffrey Parker 1980. See also Jan Sundin 1992, pp. 3 ff. and 447 ff., and Eva Österberg 1993.
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