SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Simon Arvmyren, Christopher Stridh and Mikaela Tysk, Delphi
of its performance, such as, for example, payment of a debt. The applicant must also provide security for the potential loss that the opposing party may suffer as a consequence of the provisional relief. Moreover, a party may ask the court to make an order for any provisional measure suitable to secure the applicant’s rights, if there is reasonable cause that the opposing party will impede the exercise of the applicant’s right or substantially diminish the value of the forthcoming performance. A court may also order a party, upon the application of the other party, to tem- porarily refrain from something, tolerate something or do something. Such an order can be made under the penalty of a fine. If an applicant was granted such injunctive relief, it must, if an action has not already been initiated, initi- ate appropriate judicial proceedings within a month of the order (see Chapter 15, Section 7 of the Procedural Code). Anti-suit injunctions to prevent parallel proceedings are not used (although not formally prohibited). How- ever, the principle of lis pendens prevents parallel pro- ceedings from being initiated in another court if the cases are between the same parties and regarding the same matter (see Chapter 13, Section 6 of the Procedural Code). 6.2 Arrangements for Obtaining Urgent Injunctive Relief There are no specific timeframes provided for obtain- ing urgent injunctive relief. The time needed by the court to process an application will depend on the complexity of the case and the injunctive relief in question. However, in principle the application shall be processed the same day the request is received by the court. There are out-of-office judges available during week- ends and holidays in order to handle criminal law mat- ters, such as detention orders. In urgent matters, it would be possible to contact such a judge since they would have the necessary authority, but there is no standard procedure that applies. Normally, a party
would wait for the next business day in order to file the application. 6.3 Availability of Injunctive Relief on an Ex Parte Basis It follows from Chapter 15, Section 5, paragraph 3 of the Procedural Code that the opposing party must be given a chance to respond to the order. Neverthe- less, an immediate decision ex parte is possible if a delay would put the applicant’s claim at risk, which is often the case. Once such injunctive relief has been awarded, the opposing party shall have the right to comment on the application and the court must then revisit the application and assess whether the deci- sion should still be upheld. 6.4 Liability for Damages for the Applicant In order to be granted a provisional relief, the appli- cant must generally provide security for the potential loss. In exceptional cases, the court may exempt the applicant from this requirement (see Chapter 15, Sec- tion 6 of the Procedural Code). The security generally consists of bank guarantees or guarantees provided by the applicants or others. The requirement regarding security also applies in ex parte proceedings. 6.5 Respondent’s Worldwide Assets and Injunctive Relief Injunctive relief may be awarded against worldwide assets, which is the standard approach since the order does not normally specify the assets. It should, however, be noted that awarding injunctive relief is not equivalent to the relief being possible to enforce. Enforcement in the country where the assets are locat- ed is of course dependant on the country in question recognising the decision. 6.6 Third Parties and Injunctive Relief Injunctive relief may only be obtained against a person or entity that is a party to the proceedings, and thus not against a third party. 6.7 Consequences of a Respondent’s Non- Compliance If a judgment for injunctive relief has been rendered, the successful applicant must notify the Swedish Enforcement Authority and apply for enforcement if
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