Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Legal enforcement
(922 words)

1. Definition

Legal enforcement is the process whereby civil claims (Private law), especially debts, are enforced. Enforcement is predicated on a valid judicial decision under civil procedure. Enforcement during the early modern period was characterized by the repression of private self-help in favor of the execution of rulings by state authority. States (Sovereign power) made use of legal enforcement not only to help creditors obtain their rights, but also to purs…

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Hofer, Sibylle, “Legal enforcement”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_030921>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20190801



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