SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Anders Leissner, Martin Johansson, Isak Lefvert and Imola Szanto, Advokatfirman Vinge KB
force target Russia, Belarus, the separatist or Rus - sian-controlled parts of Ukraine (Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Crimea and Sevastopol), Iran and North Korea. The measures include asset freezes, travel bans, arms embargoes, trade restrictions on goods and services (notably dual-use items), export controls and financial sector prohibitions. 1.4.2 Scope of Sanctions Violations of sanctions that are committed on Swedish territory, or committed abroad by a Swedish citizen, fall within the scope of the Swedish Sanctions Act. EU sanctions have a broader jurisdictional reach. They apply: • within EU territory, including its airspace; • to EU nationals regardless of their physical loca - tion; • to legal entities incorporated under the law of a member state, including their branches in third countries; • to any business conducted in whole or in part within the EU; and • onboard aircraft or vessels under a member state’s jurisdiction. There is no formal definition of “business carried out in whole or in part within the European Union”, although academic commentary and case law lend some sup - port to the view that, at a minimum, importing goods into the EU and enforcing contracts within the EU qualify. In addition, the EU has in recent years sanctioned non-EU entities situated in countries such as China, Serbia, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam for facilitating or participating in sanc - tions circumvention in relation to Russia. Numerous vessels in Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, many sailing under non-Russian flags, have likewise been sanctioned when found to be transporting Russian oil, or for enabling Russian energy exports in other ways. Beyond these specific designations, EU sanc - tions against Russia contain provisions that could be characterised as secondary sanctions and that aim to prevent circumvention. The general prohibition on circumventing EU restrictive measures (a core feature
of every EU sanctions regime) may also catch trans - actions that on their face have no connection to the sanctioned country, if their purpose is to evade the sanctions. 1.4.3 Domestic and/or Supranational Measures As mentioned in 1.4.1 Types of Sanctions , sanctions that apply in Sweden derive entirely from suprana - tional bodies – the EU and the UN. Sweden does not maintain its own sanctions lists, nor adopt autono - mous restrictive measures. Unlike some jurisdictions with a centralised sanc - tions authority, Sweden distributes this responsibility among multiple government bodies. Matters concern - ing arms embargoes, dual-use goods, prohibitions on internal repression equipment, and the release of frozen funds fall under the Inspectorate of Strategic Products ( Inspektionen för strategiska produkter ). The National Board of Trade ( Kommerskollegium ) man - ages licence requirements arising from sanctions, as well as controls on the export of goods and services. Several other agencies also play enforcement and supervisory roles within their respective areas, includ - ing the Financial Supervisory Authority ( Finansinspek- tionen ) and Swedish Customs ( Tullverket ). When new restrictive measures are adopted, government ordi - nances assign competence to specific agencies. Until such a designation is made, the Government Offices ( Regeringskansliet ) act as the competent authority, through the Ministry for Foreign Affairs ( Utrikesdepar- tementet ), including in respect of granting deroga - tions. The Ministry also serves as the co-ordination point for Swedish sanctions policy. 2.2 Enforcement 2.2.1 Enforcement Responsibilities There is no civil enforcement regime for sanctions breaches in Sweden. Sanctions offences amounting to contractual breaches are enforced through the dis - pute mechanism applicable to the contract in ques - tion. 2. Overview of Regulatory Field 2.1 Primary Regulators
240 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook