Originally from International Arbitration Court Decisions - 3rd Edition

DECISION BY THE SUPREME COURT OF SWEDEN RENDERED ON 16 JUNE 2004 IN CASE Ö 853-03

Subject-Matter:
Whether, by virtue of criminal investigations in Russia, documents contained in a case file at the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce should be handed over to Russian authorities pursuant to the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters of 1959.

Finding:
An interpretation of the Russian request shows that the documents seized were not covered by the request and the seizure was therefore set aside for lack of legality.

Parties:
Claimant: The Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce
Respondent: Office of the Prosecutor-General of Sweden
Place of Court Proceedings:
Stockholm, Sweden

Applicable Law:
The Swedish Act on International Legal Assistance in Criminal Matter (SFS 2000:562)
The Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure

Summary
In November 2002, a case file at the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce (the SCC Institute) was seized by the Swedish prosecutor, following a request from the Ministry of the Interior of the Russian Federation under the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters of 1959 (the Convention).

The SCC Institute opposed the request before the Stockholm District Court, and later, on appeal, before the Svea Court of Appeal. The Stockholm District Court and the Svea Court of Appeal found that the seizure was lawfully founded and rejected the SCC Institute’s claim to have the seizure set aside.