Näkemys oikeudenmukaisuudesta ja kihlakunnantuomarin viraltapano 1700-luvun puolivälin Vanhassa Suomessa

Authors

• Antti Räihä Jyväskylän yliopisto

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37449/ennenjanyt.109577

Keywords:

Viranhoito, väärinkäytökset, Vanha Suomi, 1700-luku, kihlakunnantuomarit

Abstract

Sven Johan Östring was the district court judge of Savonlinna jurisdiction from spring 1747 to summer 1760. The interaction between the peasants and judge Östring came to a head in the latter half of the 1750s while the peasants were repeatedly complaining against different kinds of malpractices that judge Östring committed. Rhetorically, according to the peasants, judge Östring was their enemy (in Swedish “owän”). In this article I will study how the processes against Östring’s misconducts proceed and which were the decisive reasons behind the district court judge Östring’s removal from his office. Although judge Östring’s misconducts were mainly economical by nature, instead of economic losses the complaints emphasised the peasants’ sense of justice, which was violated by judge Östring. The strengthening of the rhetoric in the complaints (e.g. references to corruption), the recurrence of appealing and finally practical changes in promoting appeals led eventually after four years’ process to judge Östring’s dismissal. While focusing on district court judge Östring’s misconducts, the micro historical approach will reflect from different perspectives the judicial system, the peasants’ possibilities to influence and the officials’ malpractices in Old Finland in the latter half of the 18^th century.