SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Jerker Kjellander, Matilda Kronqvist and Selma Beganovic, Vinge
4. Arbitral Awards 4.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Arbitral Awards Arbitral awards made in arbitrations seated in Sweden are enforced in the same manner as domestic court judgments. Further and as a general rule, a foreign arbitration award based on an arbitration agreement is recognised and enforced in Sweden. However, there are some exceptions, corresponding to the excep - tions in the New York Convention. A foreign award shall not be recognised and enforced in Sweden if the party against whom the award is invoked proves that: • the parties to the arbitration agreement, pursu - ant to the law applicable to them, lacked capacity to enter into the agreement or were not properly represented, or the arbitration agreement was not valid under the law to which the parties have sub - jected it or, failing any indication thereon, under the law of the country where the award was rendered; • the party against whom the award is invoked was not given proper notice of the appointment of the arbitrator or of the arbitral proceedings, or was otherwise unable to present its case; • the award deals with a dispute not contemplated by, or not falling within, the terms of the submis - sion to arbitration, or contains decisions on matters that are beyond the scope of the arbitration agree - ment, provided that, if the decision on a matter that falls within the mandate can be separated from those which fall outside the mandate, the part of the award that contains decisions on matters falling within the mandate may be recognised and enforced; • the composition of the arbitral tribunal, or the arbitral procedure, was not in accordance with the agreement of the parties or, failing such agreement, was not in accordance with the law of the country where the arbitration was seated; or • the award has not yet become binding on the par - ties, or has been set aside or suspended by a com - petent authority of the country in which, or under the law of which, the award was rendered. The recognition and enforcement of a foreign award shall also be refused if a court finds that:
ment enforceable, whereupon it can be enforced in the same way as a Swedish judgment. 3.5 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Foreign Judgments The application to the court itself is free of charge, but there may be costs when hiring a representative and translating documents. For the further processing of enforcement, costs arise in the same way as for the enforcement of a domestic judgment. However, in Sweden, the “loser pays” principle applies as a general rule, meaning that the losing party must pay all costs (eg, costs for the counterparties’ legal counsel). Simple cases take a couple of weeks to enforce, but more complicated cases can take several months or even years to enforce. 3.6 Challenging Enforcement of Foreign Judgments In cases where the district court has approved an application for a declaration of enforceability, the counterparty shall be notified of the decision and giv - en the opportunity to apply for an amendment thereof. If the counterparty is resident in Sweden, the applica - tion for change must be made within one month of receiving the decision. If the counterparty is resident in another state, the application must be made within two months of receiving the decision. After an application for amendment has been made, the court must consider whether enforcement should be refused. The court shall refuse enforcement if there are obstacles to enforcement, such as: • the judgment is contrary to the grounds of the Swedish legal system (ordre public); • the respondent in a third-party judgment or equiva - lent has not been served with the summons in the right way or in sufficient time to prepare their defence; or • the judgment is contrary to a judgment between the same parties in Sweden.
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