how legal actions can end Chamber Court resulted in a withdrawal of the complaint at the lower instance. The defendant sued by the citizens of Weiler in the lower instance thereby sought the determination of non-jurisdiction of the court invoked.69 Neither could any contribution of the Imperial Chamber Court be substantiated, nor were any recommendations of counselling lawyers documented that might have initiated conciliatory negotiations, even though they could of course evaluate the prospects of success much better owing to their legal expertise and advanced knowledge, and despite the fact that it can be assumed that they will have informed their clients thereof. At least, a commission was mentioned in one of the examined proceedings which – although not provably suggesting an amicable agreement – as done by the executory commission appointed by the Imperial Chamber Court in the so-called “office-bearer actions” (Amtsträger-Prozessen) as detected by Florian Lehrmann70 – but which nonetheless contributed to the achievement of the amicable agreement. In the matter of the journeyman bricklayer Salomon Stahl versus the bricklayers’ guild of Lübeck, the latter set up a commission from their own ranks – namely the elders of the guild – who presented the preliminary result of the settlement negotiations to the entire guild for deliberation and signing.71 Of course, it needs to be considered that this commission was not a neutral mediating body, but clearly represented the appellants’ side. Furthermore, the trade court of Lübeck was involved in this amicable agreement before which the settlement negotiations were conducted, and where the settlement agreement was ultimately formally concluded. The further question of whether a dispute could be unilaterally settled or whether the dispute-resolving party was dependent upon the cooperation of the adverse party apparently hinged on whether an appearance (litis contestatio) had already been entered or not. In this context it has to be particularly consideredwith regard to proceedings before the Imperial 69 HStAStuttgart, C3, fascicle no. 4671. 70 See Lehrmann, Florian (as in fn. 63). 71 StadtALübeck, RKG, no. M8, commission settlement of 1797, [Q] 36. 94
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