Originally from International Arbitration Court Decisions - 3rd Edition

DECISION BY THE SVEA COURT OF APPEAL RENDERED IN 2001 IN CASE Ö 4645-99

Subject-Matters:
(1) Recognition and enforcement of a foreign arbitral award; law applicable to the legal form of the arbitration agreement
(2) Enforcement of a declaratory judgment regarding the costs of the arbitration.

Findings:
(1) Where a party contests that the parties have entered into an arbitration agreement the other party must show that there is a valid and binding arbitration agreement between the parties. This question should be determined, in accordance with sections 48 and 54 of the Swedish Arbitration Act and article V, paragraph 1 (a) of the New York Convention, by the law of the country where the award was rendered (France).
(2) A declaratory judgment regarding the unspecified costs of the procedure was found to be unenforceable.
Parties:
Claimant: Planavergne S.A. (France)
Respondent: Kalle Bergander i Stockholm AB (Sweden)

Place of Court Proceedings:
Sweden

Applicable Law:
The Swedish Arbitration Act of 1999
Excerpts below follow an unofficial translation of the proceedings in the Svea
Court of Appeal.

Summary
I. THE ARBITRATION
On 31 May 1996 a broker ordered from Planavergne S.A. (“Planavergne”) a certain quantity of apples, Golden category I, at a rate of 75 FRF to be sent to Kalle Bergander i Stockholm AB (“Bergander”). The day after Planavergne confirmed the order and sent an invoice to Bergander. The goods were delivered in Stockholm on 2 June 1996 and unloaded the next day.

Bergander filed a complaint to the broker on 5 June 1996 claiming that only 50% of the apples delivered were of category I and that the rest were of category II.