c o n t i n u i t y a n d c o n t r ac t 341 role in the political debate, was entrusted with the controversial task of bridging the gap between conflicting demands and to fix the state of Swedish 20th century labour law. In this matter, the learned lawyers continued an unbroken line that can be followed from medieval scholasticism, Nehrman’s writing in 1729, 19th century writing and the treatment of legislative drafts well into Winroth’s dissertation of 1878. Common features were the Swedish scholars’ vague references to established customs as a legal foundation of this natural principle of subordination and a clear dependence on German legal writing combined with a strained repudiation of Roman law. During the formative years of Swedish labour law1885-1930, the century-old patriarchal notions were transferred from individual to collective relationships. Moreover, support could be derived from the contemporary Danish and Norwegian legal realism, which elaborated teleological methods, built on numerous references to “the nature of things”, “real considerations”, the “purpose” of law, etc.The “forum rules” of the acts of 1928, which entrusted the labour court jurisdiction only concerning collective agreements, combined to entail that for decades in practice little attention was paid to the individual contract of employment. Thus, in the new social situation, the references to “the nature of things” did not gain legal significance until the big organisations were integrated in the state’s legal system.Then the prohibition against industrial actions in legal disputes was sanctioned by damages to an amount of 200 Swedish crowns, which was equivalent to a worker’s monthly salary.Thus, the last step in the formation of the Swedish system of collective self-regulation coincided with the elaboration of a new contract of employment. The apparently confusing mixture of contract and status, however, was not a creation of the situation and the debate during the period 1885-1930. From our investigations in part II and III
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