SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Viveka Classon, Karin Rättzén and Sara Stålebring, Advokatfirman Vinge KB
sels I Regulation) or the Convention on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (the Lugano Convention) is applicable, the jurisdiction is decided under those provisions. If neither the Brussels I Regulation, Lugano Conven- tion nor any other rules on jurisdiction are applicable, the jurisdiction will be decided by an analogous appli- cation of the provisions on jurisdiction in the Swed- ish Code of Judicial Procedure ( Rättegångsbalken (1942:740)). The applicable law is decided by the Rome I Regula- tion. 9.3 Litigation Process Initiating a Litigation Process To initiate a litigation process in Sweden, the claim- ant must submit a petition to the district court that has jurisdiction. The petition must include at least the following: • information about the claimant; • a claim, which can be a declaratory action or per- formance action; • a description of the background of the claim; • a description of the evidence supporting the claim; and • a request for processing where the claimant describes whether the case can be decided in writ- ing or if a main hearing is necessary. If the petition meets these requirements, the court will serve the respondent with the claim and provide them an opportunity to respond. After the initial claim and response from the respondent, there are usually exchanges between the parties as part of the prepara- tions for the hearing. Hearings The hearing is the final step of the litigation pro- cess. During the hearing, both the claimant and the respondent present their cases in front of the court. The principle of oral proceedings applies during hear- ings, meaning that the parties must present their case verbally, including any evidence.
The court is only allowed to base their judgment on what is presented during the hearing, and a judgment may not be rendered on anything other or more than
what a party has duly requested. Judgment and Leave to Appeal
The main rule is that the judgment must be presented the same day as the hearing or the next working day. However, the short time frame is often not feasible in larger or more complex cases. Therefore, the law allows the court to grant an extension for delivering the judgment. In civil cases, the time limit may not exceed two weeks unless there are exceptional rea- sons. A leave of appeal is required for a civil case to be tried in the second instance by the Court of Appeal, as well as in the last instance by the Supreme Court. Statistics from 2015 show that a leave of appeal was granted in approximately 60% of all commercial disputes which were appealed to the Svea Court of Appeal in Stockholm. In the Supreme Court, however, the possibility of being granted a leave of appeal in a commercial case is limited, being permitted only for such cases that are of interest in terms of constituting a precedent. 9.4 Enforcement of Judgments Swedish judgments or orders are automatically enforceable in Sweden. For foreign judgments, if the Brussels I Regulation and Lugano convention is applicable, judgments are enforced under those provisions. Judgments or orders made by countries are generally not recognised in Sweden when there is no bilateral agreement between Sweden and the third country in question. 9.5 Enforcement of Arbitration Clauses For non-consumer insurance and reinsurance con- tracts, arbitration clauses can be enforced according to Swedish law. Under the SCA, an arbitration clause may be declared void if its enforcement would be considered unreason- able due to one of the parties holding an inferior bar- gaining position in the contractual relationship. In case law, this provision has been applicable in commercial
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