SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Annika Blomqvist, Sanna Frånlund, Henrik Lindstrand and Viktor Eriksson, Advokatfirman Cederquist
issue compliance orders, and suspend or revoke authorisations. Swedish Customs monitors cross-border movements and investigates suspected smuggling involving mili - tary equipment, sanctioned goods and dual-use items. The Police, the Security Service and the Swedish Prosecution Authority investigate suspected criminal offences concerning sanctions, unlawful exports and threats to national security. Subject to the ordinary statutory thresholds, they may conduct interviews, search premises, seize evidence and use other coer - cive measures. 7.2 Triggers for Investigation There are many ways that investigations may be trig - gered – eg, by whistle-blower reports, incident notifi - cations, intelligence from security services, customs inspections, discrepancies in export documentation, regulatory supervision, or inconsistencies in applica - tions and regulatory filings. 7.3 Investigative Powers and Procedures There are a number of authorities with investigative powers in this field; not all defence-related matters are governed by a single legislative framework. Gener - ally, authorities may require the disclosure of informa - tion and documents for their investigations and may require access to premises. ISP has specific powers in connection with the screen - ing of foreign direct investments and licence-holders under the Military Equipment Act and the dual-use items regulations. The power includes requesting information and documents in order to assess noti - fications and conduct supervisory tasks. ISP may also access premises where relevant business is conducted; such access rights are associated with its supervisory activities and not with criminal inves - tigative powers. 7.4 Dawn Raids and Unannounced Inspections Defence sector entities are not exempt from dawn raids under Swedish competition law. The entity is obliged to co-operate, provide access to offices or transports, provide relevant records and refrain from
obstructing the inspection. The Swedish Competition Authority may therefore conduct inspections following authorisation by the Patent and Market Court, where a defence undertaking is suspected of an infringement, such as bid rigging. Any inspection involving secu - rity classified information or sensitive premises must, however, be conducted in accordance with security protection requirements. ISP may also carry out unannounced inspections in exercising its supervisory powers under the Military Equipment Act and the dual-use items regime. 7.5 Legal Professional Privilege and Confidentiality Swedish law provides strong protection for confiden - tial communications with members of the Swedish Bar Association, but its scope depends on the procedural rules applicable to the relevant investigation. For example, documents whose contents are pro - tected by the statutory restriction on examining an advocate as a witness are protected from measures taken by the Swedish Competition Authority. Any dis - pute concerning whether a document is protected is determined by the Patent and Market Court. In relation to supervisory activities from ISP and other authorities, the general rule on legal professional privi - lege in the Code of Judicial Procedure applies, and a distinction should be made between documents that may be included and documents which there is a legal obligation to provide in response to such a request. 7.6 Debarment and Exclusion From Future Procurement A regulatory breach or a criminal conviction may lead to exclusion from future procurements in the defence and security field. If the criminal conviction relates to certain specified offences, exclusion of the tenderer is mandatory unless there are exceptional reasons. Other regulatory breaches or offences could result in exclusion of the tenderer. Please refer to 2.10 Exclu- sion Grounds for further details. 7.7 Civil Litigation and Dispute Resolution Disputes concerning defence and security contracts are generally resolved by:
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