SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Helena Selander, Pontus Scherp and Fredrik Norburg, Norburg & Scherp
3.2 Typical Length of Private Antitrust Litigation Proceedings in private antitrust cases can generally be expected to take approximately 18–36 months at first instance, although the duration will vary depend - ing on the complexity and circumstances of the indi - vidual case.
4.3 Direct/Indirect Purchasers Both direct and indirect purchasers may bring claims for damages resulting from an infringement of com - petition law under the Swedish Competition Damages Act. In the case of indirect purchasers or suppliers, the Act provides for a rebuttable presumption concerning the passing-on of overcharges or undercharges. An overcharge or undercharge is presumed to have been passed on where the infringement resulted in an over - charge for the direct purchaser or an undercharge for the direct supplier, unless the contrary is established. 4.4 Class Certification There is no separate class certification procedure under Swedish law. Instead, the court assesses whether the requirements for bringing a class action under the Swedish Class Action Act are satisfied. If the action is permitted to proceed, the members of the relevant class are notified of the proceedings and given an opportunity to opt in within the time period specified by the court, as described in 4.2 Opting In or Out . 5. Choice of Jurisdiction 5.1 Rules on Jurisdiction and Applicable Law Jurisdiction Jurisdiction in Swedish private antitrust proceed - ings is primarily determined by Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 (the “Brussels I Recast Regulation”) where the defendant is domiciled in an EU member state. In cases involving defendants domiciled in states cov - ered by the Lugano Convention, the jurisdictional rules of that Convention may apply. Under the general rule in Article 4 (1) of the Brussels I Recast Regulation, a defendant domiciled in an EU member state may be sued in the courts of that mem - ber state. Special jurisdiction may also arise in matters relat - ing to tort, delict or quasi-delict. Pursuant to Article 7 (2), proceedings may be brought before the courts of the place where the harmful event occurred or may
4. Class and Collective Actions 4.1 Statutory Basis
Claims for damages arising from competition law infringements may be pursued as class actions under the Swedish Class Action Act. Swedish law provides for three forms of class action, depending on the party bringing the proceedings: • private class actions, which may be brought by an individual or legal entity that has a claim of its own and is a member of the relevant class; • organisation class actions, which may be initiated by certain non-profit organisations, including con - sumer and labour organisations; and • public class actions, which may be brought by a designated public authority on behalf of a group of claimants. For a class action to be admissible, the claims must involve common or similar factual circumstances. The class must also be sufficiently defined to enable both the court and individual claimants to determine whether a particular person falls within its scope. Any settlement concluded on behalf of the class members is subject to court approval. Approval will be granted unless the terms of the settlement are dis - criminatory or otherwise unreasonable. 4.2 Opting In or Out Swedish class actions operate on an opt-in basis. A person wishing to participate as a member of the class must notify the court in writing within the time period specified by the court. A person who does not do so will not be included in the class action.
174 A NTITRUST LI T IGATI O N 2026
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