SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Georgios Eleftheriadis, Hellström Law Firm
If no settlement is reached, the parties will determine a date for the main hearing, in which the case will be tried on its merits. Final submissions, including final statements of evidence whereby all evidence relied upon by each party is included, will be submit- ted before the main hearing. Parties may not deviate from these statements of evidence by relying on other evidence beyond what was invoked. For these state- ments of evidence, it is not enough to provide a list of each type of evidence ‒ parties are expected to explain what specific facts each piece of evidence (whether written or oral) is intended to prove. 3.3 Standing There are three forms of class action under Swedish law, each of which has different rules on standing. Individual class actions are regulated under Section 4 of the Group Proceedings Act. Any single individual (including both natural and legal persons) who pos- sesses a claim that meets the formal requirements for a class action may bring an individual class action. Organisational class actions are regulated under Section 5 of the Group Proceedings Act. Only certain non-profit associations may bring organisational class actions before the courts. Said non-profit associations must have as their purpose (according to their stat- utes and articles of association) the protection of the interests of consumers in disputes against traders or employees vis-à-vis their employers. Chapter 32 of the Environmental Code additionally allows non-profit organisations to bring class actions regarding environmental damages (in turn regulated under the Environmental Code) if: • the non-profit organisation’s purpose is either envi- ronmental protection or nature conservation; or • the non-profit organisation is a professional asso- ciation in the following sectors: forestry, raindeer husbandry, fishing, or farming. Public class actions are regulated under Section 6 of the Group Proceedings Act. Standing in such actions is limited only to public authorities that the govern- ment has designated as such. At present, the govern- ment has designated the Swedish Consumer Agency
as the public authority authorised to pursue public class actions in the interest of consumers. 3.4 Class Members, Size and Mechanism – Opting In or Out The Group Proceedings Act has no requirements con- cerning the size of the class; there is neither a mini- mum requirement nor a maximum allowed number of members. Similarly, the Group Proceedings Act has no requirements regarding either the domicile or the nationality of the class members. The only require- ment is that the class should be appropriately defined and that a class action procedure should be appropri- ate given the nature of the action being brought. The Group Proceedings Act follows an opt-in pro- cedure, whereby all members of the class action are notified by the court of the initiation of the proceed- ings, assuming that the action passed the admissibil- ity stage. Typically speaking, the notification will be via public notice or some other form of public announce- ment. The court is also empowered to order the par- ties to make the notification. Anyone eligible and willing to join the class action may then, within a time period prescribed by the court, make their wish known to the court and thereby join the action. Should a prospective class member not be included in the class action, their claims are not barred but may be pursued as individual actions. 3.5 Joinder Class actions are subject to the same joinder proce- dure as any individual civil litigation case. Such rules may be found in Chapter 14 of the Code of Judicial Procedure. Cases may be joined in either a mandatory or discretionary manner. Mandatory Joinder Chapter 14, Section 1 of the Code of Judicial Proce- dure mandates a joinder of cases where a claimant simultaneously brings several different actions against the same respondent, and these actions materially have the same basis ‒ for instance, they rely on simi- lar or the same facts. Chapter 14, Section 2 of the Code of Judicial Proce- dure mandates a joinder of cases in situations where
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