SWEDEN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Jerker Kjellander, Matilda Kronqvist and Selma Beganovic, Vinge
Vinge Östergatan 30 Box 4255 203 13 Malmö Sweden Tel: +46 010 614 5500 Email: jerker.kjellander@vinge.se Web: www.vinge.se
Introduction When making the decision to initiate legal proceed - ings, perhaps the most important practical question to take into account is the enforcement of the future judgment. If the judgment cannot be enforced, the strength of your case and your evidence as well as the brilliancy of your advocacy will be of no good. A judgment that cannot be enforced means, in prac - tice, that the process has been in vain in many ways, except maybe in a moral one. If an examination of the available assets reveals that enforcement is to take place in another country, partly or fully, it is important that the judgment will be enforceable there as well – which can give rise to tricky situations in some cases. If it turns out that Sweden is the country where assets are located, this is in most cases good news. Enforcement in Sweden via the Swedish Enforcement Authority The Swedish Enforcement Authority helps with enforcement: it can help to collect a debt, carry out evictions, repossess or remove property, sell real estate and property to collect debts, etc. The appli - cation is easily made and comes at a very limited cost for the applicant. In urgent cases, the public authority can act quickly. When applying, the process is expedited if informa - tion about the person at whom the claim is directed is stated in the application, such as personal informa - tion, contact information for employers, assets in real estate, etc. In more complicated cases, it is advis - able to contact the Swedish Enforcement Author -
ity before submitting an application, in order to give them advance notice and time to make practical preparations. Typically, in complex cases where, for example, large assets of a company are seized, the applicant will be assigned a specific contact person (a senior enforcement officer who is assisted by a team of executors) to conduct the enforcement. That officer is usually open to discuss and take on board tips of potential assets as well as how to approach the enforcement in itself, in addition to the standard measures of contacting banks and visiting the home/ premises of the debtor. In most cases, the party against whom the claim for enforcement is directed is allowed to comment. Thereafter, the Swedish Enforcement Authority con - ducts an asset investigation. With the support of the asset investigation, the public authority then seizes cash, financial instruments, both movable and fixed assets, etc, and, to the extent necessary, monthly wage garnishment takes place. The public authority works with the case until the entire claim has been executed, unless the application is explicitly with - drawn by the applicant. In 2022, a new legal provision was introduced which allows the Swedish Enforcement Authority to commis - sion the police to execute enforcement if a person who is stopped by the police (for cause or a routine check) has debts registered with the Swedish Enforcement Authority. Typically, this applies to cash, cars, jewellery or expensive watches in the possession of debtors who in communications with the Swedish Enforce - ment Authority have claimed to have no possessions of value.
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