the svea court of appeal in the early modern period 268 ceptionally debtor-friendly, tailored to attract foreign merchants to Sweden. According to Dalhede, the attempt to attract foreign merchants, particularly German, to Landskrona had some early success, but the town did not become a major commercial centre.731 The Roman law approach to insolvency is apparent in the law proposal concerning procedure in city courts (Rådstufvu Process), completed in 1643.732 By combining Swedish law and practice with Roman concepts and provisions, the 1643 proposal was an early example of seventeenth-century Roman-Swedish jurisprudence.733 It was probably drafted by Daniel Figrelius (nob. Leijonstierna, 1605 –1664), who had studied Roman law, acquired a doctorate in Orléans in 1637 and served as judicial burgomaster of Norrköping.734 The position of insolvent debtors was handled in Chapter XII concerning debt collection and the execution of judgments, while the order of payment was regulated in Chapter XIII. In cases where there were several creditors and the insolvent debtor sought to reach a settlement with the creditors, the causes of the insolvency were to be taken into account. If the insolvency was due to circumstances beyond the control of the debtor, such as fire, shipwreck, or being betrayed by his own debtors, he could cede his property to the creditors (XII:9). Such an honest debtor retained necessary property items, such as his lodging, clothes and tools of trade. (XII:11) Dishonest debtors were not entitled to such treatment, and were to be treated as thieves. The Latin gloss of provisionXII:9 spoke of the benefit as “beneficiumCessionis bonorummiserabili,” and thus linked the Roman institution of cessio bonorumto the Swedish context. The Roman influences of the 1643 proposal are obvious. Many provisions are largely translations of passages of theCorpus Iuris Civilis.735 Unlike the Roman sources, the proposal classified problems caused by the debtor’s 731 Dalhede, Christina 2006 p. 17. 732 The draft is published inÅtgärder för lagförbättring 1633-1665, ed. Wahlberg, pp. 183-207. 733 The glosses in the proposal include references to medieval Swedish law and sixteenthand seventeenth-century statutes, and Latin terms or phrases. 734 Olivecrona, S.R.D.K. 1862 p. 17. On Figrelius-Leijonstierna, see Helmfrid, Björn 1977– 1979 pp. 508-509. 735 Montgomery, Robert 1874 pp. 320-323. The Influence of the Roman Law of Insolvency in Seventeenth-Century Sweden
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjYyNDk=