Court of Arad county

Collection

Holding institution (official language):: Arhivele Nationale Române. Direcţia judeţeană Arad

Scope and content:: The fonds comprises the files created by the court of Arad county between 1967 and 1951. The files contain the records of the trials of this court in various aspects of civil, criminal and financial law. A special section was established in 1921 for the implementation of the land reform of 1921, which was responsible for expropriation of land, distribution of expropriated properties and judgement on contestations. Another important section dealt with the registration of companies, societies and juridical persons in the county. These sections of court activity include many files concerning local Jewish commercial, financial and industrial enterprises, which had to present their statues, personnel lists and accounts at their registration and which had a lot of trials in court relating to debts, contracts and payments. Among these files are the following: File 18/1920 - Fischer & Co from Arad; 19/1920 - Fried & Comp from Arad; 8/1930 - Bank of petty credits and savings from Arad; 11/1930 - Bank Marmorosch Blank v Iosif Finkelstein; 33/1932 - Samuila Grunfeld v the Romanian Ministry of Defense in contractual matters; 33/1942 - procedure against Ioanovici-Hermann from Arad; 8/1946 - Eugen Leb and Samuil Iacobovici from Arad.

Archival history:: The fonds was preserved by the Court of Arad county. After 1989 it was transferred to the Arad county directorate of the Romanian National Archives, inventoried and made available to researchers.

Administrative/biographical history:: The court of Arad county was established in 1867 in accordance with the legislation of the newly installed Austro-Hungarian Empire which replaced the Austrian Empire. Law IV of 1869 separated administrative and juridical institutions and in 1871 county courts were established in the capital cities or towns of every city. They were separated into three sections: civil, criminal and commercial. These courts functioned as appeal courts for decisions of the subordinated courts of the county’s prefectures. This system continued until the end of the First World War, while in the inter-war period the juridical system was reorganised according to Romanian legislation. After 1940 the military dictatorship of general Antonescu subordinated the juridical system to the demands of war, with particular attention being accorded to the prevention and punishment of sabotage actions and speculations as well as implementing antisemitic legislation. After 1945, the court of Arad was returned to its inter-war organisation, until in 1950 the newly installed Communist regime introduced a fundamental reform of the justice system which became an instrument of the new dictatorship until 1989.

Access points: persons/families:: Finkelstein, Iosif; Grunfeld, Samuila; Hermann; Iacobovici

System of arrangement:: The fonds is organised in thematic sections, within which the files are arranged in chronological and alphabetical order.

Finding aids:: Inventories 551; 1011; 1017, held by the Arad county directorate of the Romanian National Archives.

Yerusha Network member:: Romanian Institute for the Research of National Minorities

Author of the description:: Attila Gidó, researcher, Institute for Study of National Minorities Cluj-Napoca - 2018; Ladislau Gyémánt, emeritus professor - 2018