The master-servant rules had been criticised from different angles since the late 18th century. Moreover, it is true that the statute of 1833 concerning master and servant was established in the nostalgic “back-to-basics” atmosphere of the 1830s and aimed at restoring the family life of the past. Nevertheless, like in most other European countries these types of patriarchal ancient rules also were preserved as the overall legislative labour law instrument well into the latter part of the 19th century.The Statute on Freedom of Trade of 1864 referred to the police statute of 1833 as a fundamental collection of norms from which the parties could diverge only by explicit agreement. In the very same period a lot of important structural and ideological factors forced Swedish society in quite a different direction. During the latter half of the 19th century, Swedish labour law legislation was out of step with what it was dealing with, real working life. In “reality”, new patterns appeared, according to which the worker was informally employed, paid on the basis of how many days or hours he or she worked, and in which the employer was relieved of supporting the workers when they were sick or old. As has been said several times, a central issue of the 19th century scholars was to articulate those general contractual principles which should apply to the “free” relationship between employer and employee. The statute concerning master and servant from1833 as well as the statute on free trade from1864 presupposed certain formalities to be applied. If the parties did not observe the formal requirements, neither of the statutes formally could be applied. Instead, “general contractual principles” should be applied. But, what did this reference to “general contractual principles” really mean?What was the appropriate treatment of the new kinds of labour relations which fit into neither the Statute on Hired Servants, nor the Statute on Freedom of Trade, nor the Book of Commerce in the National Code of 1734?When German legal scholars analysed similar issues, the political and technical aspects p a r t 1 i i , c h a p t e r 3 88
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