c o n t i n u i t y a n d c o n t r ac t 277 Establishing a special court for that purpose was described as being an old demand. The general courts enjoyed little confidence because of slowness and lack of knowledge. However it was necessary to stipulate a court in order to be able to connect with existing rules of court procedure, judges’ oath, witnesses being hear under oath, and the authority to gain a hearing.Moreover, judges’ competence was necessary keeping in mind the difficult juridical nature of the matters dealt with, which touched on other legal fields than purely contractual law. Even the Council of Legislation had emphasised the importance of there being a special court whose members were seen as impartial. It was now, namely, not a question of an instance for arbitration that the parties could use voluntarily, but a real court, whose juridical decision they had to unconditionally submit to.563 In the parliamentary debate, the minister of justice, JohanThyrén (1861-1933), stated that the general courts were neither fast enough nor had sufficient knowledge to deal with the disputes that the act applied to. In argumentation with the Social Democrats and the Communists, Thyrén moreover noted that it was not possible to talk about class laws in a country that had universal suffrage, the highest standard of living in Europe and was well advanced regarding social matters.564 SAF’s chairman, Hjalmar von Sydow argued that the workers at present were free from all legal responsibility regarding violations of collective agreements, and the act aimed at putting them on an equal footing with other organisations and citizens in the realm.565 The trade unions unanimously and strongly rejected the bill and before parliament’s treatment of the bill carried out demonstrations and political strikes that involved circa 350,000 workers. Among those who participated was Per Albin Hansson (1885563 Prop. 1928:39, pp. 52, 134, 137, 151, 241. 564 FK1928:35, pp. 40-49. 565 MFK1928:280, 281; FK1928:35, p. 55; LU2 1928:36. 9. 6. 3 oppos i t ion
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