Private International Law

Swedish private international law is now largely regulated by EU legislation

In the event of conflicts of law, the applicable law for contractual obligations is regulated by an EU regulation, the so-called Rome I Regulation. The regulation constitutes law in Sweden and is applied to determine which country’s law is applicable to contractual obligations with international connections, in cases where the parties have not agreed otherwise. The contractual obligation may, for example, concern the purchase of goods or services. The regulations exclude, among other things, obligations that are based on family relationships and obligations that are based on the property relations of spouses.

What does private international law mean?

Private international law deals with disputes with an international dimension and thus extends across national borders. An example of an international dimension is when two contracting parties reside in different countries. The legal field mainly regulates three issues, which are:

The question of which court is competent to hear the issue in dispute (jurisdiction),
The question of which country’s law should apply (conflict of law rules).
The question of whether a judgment that has been issued in one country can be recognized and enforced in another country (enforceability). An example is when a foreign judgment or decision regarding the conclusion of marriage can be recognized and enforced in Sweden.

Each individual state regulates the issues in its national legal text, but there are conventions and international agreements that harmonize the legislation of states so that these do not conflict.

Our lawyers and legal experts can help you with international private law issues such as:

Applicable law
Choice of law agreements (prorogation agreements)
Enforcement of judgments
International estate investigations and property divisions
International sales contracts

At a global level, the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in civil and commercial matters is regulated by the 2019 Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters. The purpose of this convention is to promote access to justice for all in cross-border trade and investment. The convention will enable EU citizens and companies to have judgments given by EU courts recognised and enforced in non-EU countries that are parties to the convention. Some matters are excluded from the scope of the convention, such as tax matters, customs matters and administrative law matters. Family law matters are also excluded from the scope of the convention

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