SWEDEN Law and Practice Contributed by: Jerker Kjellander, Matilda Kronqvist and Selma Beganovic, Vinge
The court of appeal must give the opposing party opportunity to comment before the court can approve the application. If the opposing party objects to the existence of an arbitration agreement, the agreement shall also be submitted in an original or certified copy to the appel - late court. The same translation rules apply as for the award in relation hereto. In this context, it should be noted that there is no requirement within the frame - work of Swedish law for the arbitration agreement to be in writing. If the opposing party objects and submits a request for annulment of the arbitral award or suspension of its enforcement, the appellate court may postpone the decision and, if the applicant so requests, order the other party to provide reasonable security if a decision on enforcement may otherwise be issued. When the Svea Court of Appeal grants an application for recognition and enforcement of a foreign award, the award is enforceable as a final Swedish court judgment, unless the Supreme Court orders a stay of execution. Decisions by the Svea Court of Appeal can be appealed to the Supreme Court. After the decision, the enforcement of the arbitral award may be made on the same terms as a domes- tic judgment. 4.5 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Arbitral Awards The time it takes to enforce an arbitral award depends on a number of different factors, such as the number of parties, whether communication is needed before a decision, case type, etc. The time may vary from a couple of months to over a year.
The application to the Svea Court of Appeal 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” prin - ciple applies as a general rule, meaning that the losing party must pay all costs (eg, costs for the counterpar - ties’ legal counsel). 4.6 Challenging Enforcement of Arbitral Awards An arbitral award that is not final will not be recognised and enforced in Sweden. The party against whom the award is invoked has the burden of proof in relation thereto. Pending appeal or setting-aside proceedings in another country will not generally mean that an award is not considered as final, but Swedish courts will as a general rule not enforce an arbitral award which is subject to an enforcement stay issued by a competent court at the seat of arbitration. Questions in the arbitral award, regarding limitation and other substantive objections, for example, are not reconsidered in the context of the enforcement procedure. For other grounds for challenging enforcement, see 4.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Arbitral Awards .
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