SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Simon Arvmyren, Christopher Stridh and Mikaela Tysk, Delphi
court may also, ex officio, issue a default judgment if the respondent is not following the procedural require- ments, see 3.6 Failure to Respond , or dismiss the case due to, for example, the court’s lack of jurisdic- tion, see 4.3 Dispositive Motions . A party may also seek injunctive relief (see 6. Injunc- tive Relief ) and the court may issue partial awards Generally, cases are not decided before the main hearing where the parties have had the opportunity to present their case in full and the court has heard all evidence. However, there are some exceptions to this main rule. • A default judgment may be issued (see 3.6 Failure to Respond ). • A court may dismiss the case due to various procedural shortcomings (see 4.3 Dispositive Motions ). (see 4.2 Early Judgment Applications ). 4.2 Early Judgment Applications • Upon the application of a party, a court may also give a separate partial judgment on a separate and independent claim before the substantive hear- ing of the entire case; such partial judgments are relatively rare. If the resolution of a particular issue may be decisive for the relief sought by a plaintiff (for instance whether a claim is time-barred), a party can apply for its early judgment and the court may try such an issue in an intermediate judgment. It is at the court’s discretion to decide whether such proceedings are suitable. 4.3 Dispositive Motions As mentioned in 4.1 Interim Applications/Motions and 4.2 Early Judgment Applications , a case is usu- ally decided after the main hearing. In some cases, the court may dismiss a case without examining it based on the merits following a motion by one of the parties. Some examples are as follows. • A challenge to the court’s jurisdiction – if the court lacks jurisdiction it shall reject the claim (Chapter 10, Section 17 of the Procedural Code); in certain
circumstances, the case may be transferred to the correct court. • A motion for dismissal may also be brought for- ward if the court does not have capacity to try the case due to res judicata or lis pendens; ie, that the case has already been tried or is currently up for trial in another court or trial. 4.4 Requirements for Interested Parties to Join a Lawsuit Chapter 14 of the Procedural Code governs joinder of cases and participation by third parties in court pro- ceedings. A third party may join an already existing lawsuit either as a party or as an intervenor. To join as a party, the claim by a third party must be based on essentially the same ground as the already existing lawsuit. A claim can be brought forward either by one plaintiff against one or more defendants, or by one or more plaintiffs against one or more defendants. If a third party may not join as a party to an existing lawsuit but the matter in dispute concerns their legal right or obligation, and shows probable cause for this statement, they may appear as an intervenor in the suit, on either the plaintiff’s or the defendant’s side. To act as an intervenor, an application shall be made to the court which shall be decided on as soon as pos- sible. The existing parties shall be given a chance to provide comments on the application. 4.5 Applications for Security for Defendant’s Costs There is no right to apply for an order against a plain- tiff to provide security for costs under Swedish law except if the plaintiff is domiciled outside the EU or the European Economic Area. If the plaintiff is domiciled in a country outside the EU or the European Economic Area, the plaintiff must, upon the request of the defendant, furnish security for a reasonable estimate of the defendant’s costs for the entire proceedings (including appeal). Security for costs is normally provided in the form of a bank guarantee or other guarantee. If an order to provide security is not adhered to, the case will be dismissed. There are some exceptions to this provision where the plaintiff does not have to provide security.
1073 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook