Arbitration Reform in Sweden

Abstract

1 APRIL 1999 is an important date in the history of Swedish arbitration. On that date the new Swedish Arbitration Act (the Act) entered into force. On the same date, the new Rules of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (the SCC Rules) also took effect. After years of preparation, the 1929 Swedish Arbitration Act and the 1929 Act Concerning Foreign Arbitration Agreements and Awards were replaced by the new Act. The SCC Rules have been prepared on the basis of, and taking account of, the Act. The Act and the Rules together constitute an efficient and comprehensive collection of arbitration provisions and rules relating to arbitrations in Sweden. Commercial arbitration has a long tradition in Sweden. It probably goes back to the fourteenth century. The first comprehensive Swedish Arbitration Act was not, however, adopted until 1887. It was replaced by the 1929 Arbitration Act. For 70 years this Act provided a satisfactory legislative framework for commercial arbitration – both domestic and international – in Sweden. The explanation for this state of affairs is in all likelihood the autonomy which the arbitral process has always enjoyed under Swedish law. Swedish courts have mostly adhered to a policy of non-interference with arbitration. Arbitral awards are set aside only on narrowly defined procedural grounds, e.g. if the procedure violates the agreement of the parties or if it fails to meet minimum standards of due process. It has long been a well-established principle that arbitral awards cannot be reviewed or retried on the merits. The underlying philosophy is, and has always been, that of freedom of contract, trust in the arbitrators and recognition of the advantages of a single, privately administered dispute settlement mechanism. The Act is also permeated by this philosophy. As a result of increased commercial activity both …