SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Jerker Kjellander, Matilda Kronqvist and Selma Beganovic, Vinge
Provided that the debtor has cash or cash equivalents, the time from the day of the application to the day the creditor is fully repaid is approximately 20 working days. However, the processing time may vary depend - ing on the subject of the enforcement, how quickly documents may be served on the debtor, the debtor’s solvency and the kind of assets seized. The application fee for applying at the district court to place another party in bankruptcy is SEK2,800 (approximately EUR250), not including legal fees. This process is, if the debtor does not admit the applica - tion, both time-consuming and more expensive than an application at the Enforcement Authority. 2.4 Post-Judgment Procedures for Determining Defendants’ Assets As part of the execution process, the Enforcement Authority investigates whether the debtor has assets it can seize, and the location thereof. This is usually done through contacting all Swedish banks, check - ing the publicly available records of income and real property and vehicle ownership, as well as visiting the home of the debtor to search for saleable assets. The Enforcement Authority is also willing to follow up on tips provided by the applicant concerning assets. 2.5 Challenging Enforcement of Domestic Judgments A respondent may challenge enforcement on the basis of a failure to validly serve proceedings on them, seek - ing to set aside the judgment or appeal the judgment. A court judgment in Sweden is enforceable even if the judgment has not yet become final (eg, the appeal period is still running). However, the Enforcement Authority will in such case hold funds and assets and not pay the applicant before the judgment becomes final. After the judgment becomes final, the obligation itself as stated in the judgment cannot be challenged during enforcement proceedings, other than for pro - cedural irregularities. However, a higher court can also rule to stay the enforcement until the judgment is delivered. The inhi - bition can only be ruled at the request of a party. For the person/company filing the appeal, it is therefore
important to remember to request a stay of enforce - ment. The counterparty may challenge the Enforcement Authority’s decision to seize and sell assets. The appeal shall be sent to the authority within three weeks from the date of service ( delgivning ) of the decision by the authority. If the decision relates to the enforcement of a person’s regular salary, there is no time limit for the appeal. The appeal is tried by a district court. An appeal is not generally an obstacle to enforcement. Thus, the Enforcement Agency can still execute the enforcement until the court has made its decision on the appeal. If the court rules in the debtor’s favour, the property, or the equivalent amount, is given back to the respondent. Moreover, the court can also rule to stay the enforcement until the appeal has been tried. 2.6 Unenforceable Domestic Judgments In Sweden, all types of court judgments can be enforced, in principle. 2.7 Register of Domestic Judgments Although there is no official searchable register of all judgments, all court judgments are official in Sweden. It is possible to call or email each of the 48 district courts to ask for judgments or pending cases involv - ing a specific company or person. It can be faster to contact only the district court in the jurisdiction of the party’s registered office or residence, since any cases against them will likely will be tried in that court. The courts usually answer the same day. The informa - tion obtained includes all criminal and civil cases, as well as insolvency proceedings. It does not include other authority decisions, such as decisions from the Enforcement Authority, unless appealed and brought before a district court. Furthermore, a credit report of a person or a company can easily be obtained by contacting a credit referenc - ing agency. Unpaid debts, granted credits, and credit scores will be shown. Payment defaults are usually visible in the report for three years.
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