Points of law

The Court of Appeal finds that the Enforcement Service is prevented from trying an application for an order to pay directed to an embassy according to the summary proceedings, since these proceedings exclude the kind of examination that is necessary to try the question of possible jurisdictional immunity for the defendant.

Summary of the case

The Foundation had let apartments to an embassy and sent an application for an order to pay rents that were overdue to the Enforcement Service. The Stockholm Enforcement Service dismissed the application on the grounds that the embassy enjoyed immunity. The Foundation appealed to the Svea Court of Appeal. The court pointed out that the Foundation had not sued the embassy before a court but had filed an application with the enforcement service within the scope of the so-called “summariska processen” (summary proceedings). According to these proceedings the authority has essentially to grant the application if the defendant has not contested it on due time. The court pointed out that the aim of these proceedings is inter alia to avoid matters of judgement, why the court found that the summary proceedings essentially exclude the kind of examination that is necessary to try the question if the defendant enjoys jurisdictional immunity in a civil case. Therefore, the Svea Court of Appeal established that the Enforcement Service had been prevented from trying the Foundation's application.

Sources

Rättsfall från Hovrätterna 1993, Case No. 1993:31

Additional information (explanations, notes, etc.)

- Svea Court of Appeal decision 18 June 1980 (Rättsfall från Hovrätterna 1981, Case No. 76:81)
- Supreme Court decision 30 December 1999 (Nytt Juridiskt Arkiv 1999, Avd I, Case No. 1999:112)