the svea court of appeal in the early modern period 58 It has been emphasised that “the consolidation of the central government and an expansion of its powers” was initiated after the succession of Gustav II Adolf to the throne of Sweden. The Svea Court of Appeal, the new creation (nyskapelsen), reformed the legal system.130 Indeed, the establishment of the Svea Court of Appeal has traditionally been seen in connection with the reorganization of the Swedish central administration during the reign of Gustav II Adolf. As Nils Edén formulated it, “[w]hen Gustaf Adolf presented his plan to organize a permanent Court of Appeal at the Diet of Örebro in 1614, it was undoubtedly his intention to create thereby a central collegium partly for the supervision of lower […] officials, and partly for the practice of the highest jurisdiction in the king’s name.”131 On a similar note, Sven A. Nilsson wrote: “The reforms during these years dealt for example with the administration when the Chancery and Treasury were remodelled into collegiums through the Ordinance of the Treasury in 1614 and a number of Chancery ordinances until the definitive one in 1626. Even at the advent of the Svea Court of Appeal, it was planned as a corresponding collegium for the administration of justice that would adjudicate at the highest instance.”132 This is often presented as part of the master plan of the brilliant Swedish Chancellor, Axel Oxenstierna, for rebuilding the Swedish administration, put into action step by step during the reign of Gustav II Adolf, the heroic “Lion of the North” and military genius. As Sture Petrén formulated it, “[i]n gradually remodelling the whole constitutional and administrative fabric of the kingdom, Gustavus Adolphus and his Chancellor […], the most famous of Swedish statesmen, considered that one of their first objectives was to organize the Supreme Court of Appeal on a permanent basis and to regulate its relations with the lower courts […].”133 Wald, Georgius 1619, trans. Schroderus, pp. Aijr-Aijv. 130 Thunander, Rudolf 1995 p. 21. 131 Edén, Nils 1902 p. 245: “Då Gustaf Adolf på Örebro riksdag år 1614 framlade sin plan att organisera en fast hofrätt, var det otvifvelaktigt hans afsikt att med denna skapa ett centralt arbetskollegium dels för de lägre lagskapande myndigheternas övervakning, dels för utöfningen af en högsta domsmakt i konungens namn.” 132 Nilsson, Sven A. 1967 – 1969 p. 447: “Reformerna under dessa år gällde bl a förvaltningen, där kansliet och kammaren ombildades till kollegier genom kammarordningen 1614 och en rad kansliordningar fram till den slutliga av år 1626. Även Svea hovrätt var vid sin tillkomst 1614 tänkt som ett motsvarande kollegium för rättskipningen, som skulle döma i högsta instans.” 133 Petrén, Sture 1966 p. 264.
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