Införandet och misslyckandet av svenska handelsdomstolar

Sammanfattning: The main purpose of the paper is to explore the legislation and debate on commercial courts in Sweden from the late 19th century to the end of the 20th century. The focus is also on the law from 1905, on special composition in commercial cases at the courts in Stockholm, Malmö and Gothenburg. This law is the most recent one Sweden has had in the area of commercial courts. The paper examines how this law came about and why it was abolished, and what alternatives were given after its removal. The discussion about the introduction of commercial courts was initiated in response to protracted litigation of commercial cases that now caused both economic damage to the business community but also to the judicial confidence and authority from merchants. This discussion began in 1875 and can be considered to be concluded in 1972 as it moves on to deal with the reform of arbitration from having dealt with the issue of commercial courts. The following questions are addressed in the paper: How did the legislation on commercial courts develop in Sweden and to what extent did foreign law and the Swedish political debate influence it? Why and how was the special composition of commercial courts established? What were the driving forces for and against the establishment of commercial courts? International law in this area has a striking impact on both the 1905 Act and the other debate on commercial courts. In particular, reference is made to the So- og Handelsretten in Copenhagen in most of the proposals for special commercial courts. The social debate in the country will be made visible in certain studies and opinions, this will be of particular importance for the criticism of special commercial procedures.