Debit Commission
Debit commission (from the Latin. Debere "debt") was in the Holy Roman Empire an instrument of debt settlement and possibly receivership of insolvent sovereign states (the imperial estates ) and rare not rich just manors .
Imperial Commissions
The Reichshofrat (RHR) had the opportunity to use “Imperial Commissions”. These commissions could be entrusted with all matters for which the Reichshofrat itself was responsible. The appointment was made in three quarters of all cases at the request of a party . The extent to which the Reichshofrat made use of this instrument has not been comprehensively researched. This is due to the fact that delegations dealing with organizational matters such as the regulation of inheritance or guardianship matters or the opening of files were also designated as imperial commissions. The commissions that served to resolve legal disputes were a small subset of these commissions. For the reign of Emperor Ferdinand III. 650 commissions are documented in this way. The request to set up a commission was also rejected by the RHR. During the tenure of Ferdinand III. this was the case in over 70 cases.
The commission was set up by an imperial letter based on the decision of the Reichshofrat. Formally she acted in the name of the emperor. The commission consisted of one or more members. Usually, geographical proximity to the parties to the dispute was an essential selection criterion. Belonging to the same imperial circle was common. Particularly in the early days, careful attention was paid to the confession of the commissioners.
A complaint could be made to the Reichshofrat against the establishment of a commission or the selection of employees . Reasons could be B. Be biased . Individual imperial estates (such as the imperial city of Regensburg due to a privilege of Charles V ) had imperial privileges to be exempt from all commissions.
Competencies
The commissions could have different tasks. So it could be a matter of pure investigation commissions, but they could also be charged with the implementation of measures.
The actual decision in the legal dispute was made by the RHR. However, it was possible for the RHR to nominate the host judge (or, as a commission, australian commissions) who were able to make the judgment on site. Most attempts were made to find compromise solutions and to resolve the conflict by means of a recess . In extreme cases, the work of the commissions could also be supported by Reich executions .
subjects
80% of the plaintiffs and 90% of the defendants were direct from the Reich. The issues dealt with by the imperial commissions spanned the entire spectrum of conflicts in the old empire. About a third of the cases were about family matters, primarily inheritance disputes, one third about economic issues and 15% about sovereign issues.
A frequent question was the regulation of debt relationships and over-indebtedness. The related commissions are called debit commissions (debt commissions, Latin Commissiones ad tractandum cum creditoribus).
Debit Commissions
Johann Jakob Moser ideally divides the debit commission into three types, depending on the order:
- Investigative commissions had the task of ascertaining the actual financial situation.
- Administration commissions had the mandate to carry out specific debt repayment measures.
- Bankruptcy commissions were tasked with conducting formal bankruptcy proceedings.
Reasons for the over-indebtedness of the imperial estates
The main reasons given for the over-indebtedness of the imperial estates are the consequences of war , the costs of splendid court rulings and excessive military spending. At the end of the Thirty Years' War in particular , many sovereign princes were heavily indebted due to the war. In addition to the costs of the war, it was primarily the income that had collapsed.
In later times it was above all the effort involved in keeping the court that led to payment problems.
Order of the debit commissions
The debit commissions were each entrusted with their order in writing. These orders were very similar in terms of their wording. Was ordered:
- To take the debtor's officials into duties, d. H. to swear these on the commission and to obtain authority over them.
- Prepare a debt and wealth statement.
- To agree on an amicable payment plan with the creditors.
- Take measures that improve solvency.
- To effect and announce a judgment.
Debit Commission priority
The application to set up a debit commission was often made by the debtors. The reason was that with the formation of the Debit Commission, a “Forum universale” was created into which all demands were received. This made it possible to repeal the execution of already passed judgments in individual guilty matters. The debt issues in question were also passed on to the Debit Commission. The procedure then had more the function of bankruptcy proceedings in which no debtor was to be preferred.
Bankruptcy proceedings
In bankruptcy proceedings, the commission was able to order precautionary measures and appoint an asset manager. In the liquidation procedure, the creditors were first publicly invited (edictal citation) to register claims. The receivables were checked and, in the positive case, for "liquid", i. H. declared entitled and enforceable. In the following priority procedure, the order of priority of the settlement of the claims was established and, if necessary, the mass was distributed accordingly in the distribution procedure.
Legal basis
The establishment of imperial (debit) commissions was regulated in the Reichshofratordnung . The Reich Chamber of Commerce also had the option to set up commissions. Debit commissions in the sense described here were, however, set up exclusively by the Reichshofrat.
The mandate of the Debit Commissions actually ended with the end of the old empire. However, in many cases the existing ones continued to work. The debit commission established in Sachsen-Hildburghausen in 1769 worked until 1826. After 1806 the debit commission dispensed with the “imperial” attribute and was simply called the debit commission.
literature
- Jürgen Ackermann Debt, Reich Debit Management, Mediatization - A Study of the Financial Problems of the Inferior Estates in the Old Reich, The Example of the County of Ysenburg-Büdingen 1687–1806 , Writings of the Hessian State Office for Historical Regional Studies 40, self-published by the Hessian State Office for Historical Regional Studies, Marburg 2002 , ISBN 3-921254-93-0 , 271 pages
- Susanne Herrmann The implementation of debt proceedings in the context of imperial debit commissions in the 18th century using the example of the debit system of the Counts of Montfort ; in: Wolfgang Sellert Reichshofrat and Reichskammergericht: A competitive relationship , 1999, ISBN 3-412-01699-3 , pages 111–128
- Johann Jakob Moser The first book contains ( contributions to the history of debt -Wesens viler secular imperial estates , pp. 1–625) and second book ( legal considerations on this matter , pp. 635–865), Bergerische Buchhandlung, Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig 1774 digitized
- Johann Jakob Moser On the realm-estate debt system, as far as the secular electors, including princes and counts Cameral debts, and the way in which they sell and pay them (= Volume 2), Zweyter Part ( Imperial Court Findings , p. 1– 396 and Debit Commissions Acts , pp. 396-470), Bergerische Buchhandlung, Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig 1775 digitized
- Eva Ortlieb Reichshofrat and Imperial Commissions in the reign of Emperor Ferdinand III. (1637-1657) ; in: Wolfgang Sellert Reichshofrat and Reichskammergericht: A competitive relationship , 1999, ISBN 3-412-01699-3 , pages 47-81
- Siegrid Westphal Imperial jurisdiction and stately stabilization , chapter: "The Reichshofrat and the debt of imperial estates", 2002, ISBN 3412088021 , page 256 ff., Online
Individual evidence
- ^ Eva Ortlieb: Reichshofrat and Imperial Commissions in the reign of Emperor Ferdinand III., Pp. 54–56
- ↑ An example: Reichshofratsordnung (RHRO) of March 16, 1654, Tit II § 6
- ^ Wolfgang Burgdorf : One can recover from the debt system; in: FAZ of July 12, 2011, page 37 ( online )
- ^ Archive portal Thuringia: Imperial Debit Commission for Saxony-Hildburghausen