the svea court of appeal in the early modern period 294 Holmcreutz, 1698 – 1770), the castle bailiff (slottsfogde) of the capital.855 According to the report, a practice had developed in cities whereby the insolvent debtor asked to court to convene his creditors for composition negotiations and in case they failed, for cessio bonorum. Although the application for the cessio bonorumwas conditional and the debtor did not provide the appropriate inventory of his assets he was protected from imprisonment for debt. Thereby the insolvent debtor won extra time which he could use to favour some of his creditors or to intimidate them into accepting a disadvantageous composition. According to the report, this practice should be prohibited.856 Interestingly, the 1755 report also identified fundamental problems in the judicial institutions handling insolvency. The ordinary courts were too busy with other kinds of cases and could not handle insolvency problems with due expediency. It was suggested in the report that special bankruptcy courts be established, first in Stockholm, where most bankruptcies took place. As far as noblemen’s insolvency was concerned, the drafters suggested that these cases be handled by special commissions. The bankruptcy cases of the town court would be heard by a bankruptcy court of same status, staffed by a mixed body of judges, some of whom would be trained in law and others with a merchant background. However, the bankruptcy court judges would work without a fixed salary. Their compensation would be made up of a proportion of the funds of the insolvent estates they had managed to wind up. This results-based compensation fitted the spirit of the “Age of Utility.” The costs of the delays of the existing system were calculated using a “time is money” perspective. This proposal to introduce special jurisdiction to Sweden was supported by an unspecific reference to arrangements adopted in foreign countries.857 The proposed mixed body of judges bears some resemblance to Amsterdam.858 The notion of special bankruptcy or commercial jurisdiction reappears, showing that the exceptionalism of the Swedish bankruptcy system was not always viewed in a positive light. 855 For information about the committee, see Matz, Siegfried 1919 p. 61. The authors of the report are identified in the database of the Royal Library of Sweden. 856 Kongl. Förkortnings Commissionens Project 1755 pp. 106-110. 857 Kongl. Förkortnings Commissionens Project 1755 pp. 114-116. 858 Instructie ende ordonnantie voor Commissarisen van de desolate boedels 1659article I.
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