Originally from International Arbitration Court Decisions - 3rd Edition

JUDGMENT BY THE SVEA COURT OF APPEAL, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, ON 7 DECEMBER 2006, IN CASE NO. T 5044-04

“The Rapla Invest v TNK Trade Case”

Subject Matters:
(1) Failure by the arbitral tribunal to apply legal rules or principles -jura novit curia in Swedish arbitration.
(2) Failure by the arbitral tribunal to examine an invoked ground.
(3) Disqualification of an arbitrator due to previous connection with a party.

Findings:
(1) It is an open question whether the principle of jura novit curia applies in arbitration disputes involving one or more foreign parties, where the arbitral tribunal has its seat in Sweden.
(2) The facts presented in the case did not warrant the conclusion that the arbitral tribunal had failed to examine an invoked ground.
(3) The arbitrator’s previous connection to one of the parties was not deemed sufficient to disqualify the arbitrator.

Parties:
Claimant: Rapla Invest AB in liquidation (Sweden)
Respondent: TNK Trade Limited (Cyprus)

Counsel:
For the Claimant: Torbjörn Widemar, Nyström Bridal Widemar
Advokatbyrå, Stockholm, Sweden
For the Respondent: Bengt Gärde and Martin Peterson, Advokatfirman Gärde &
Nordlin AB, Stockholm, Sweden

Place of Court Proceedings:
Stockholm, Sweden

Applicable Law:
The Swedish Arbitration Act of 1999