Decision of the Supreme Court of Sweden, 18 March 2014, Case No. Ö 2237-12

Summary: A party sought enforcement in Sweden of an award rendered in Honduras. The party sought enforcement against “NCC AB,” who was not listed as party in the award. The requesting party alleged that by mistake the award listed “NCC AS” as party, yet the tribunal in reality meant “NCC AB” and that, in any case, “NCC AB” had assumed liability for the obligations of “NCC AS” under the award. The Court explained that Section 57 of the Swedish Arbitration Act provides that an application for enforcement shall be denied when the opposing party has not been afforded an opportunity to comment on the application. The Court’s review of the application for enforcement is mainly formal and the Court does not review the merits of the issues decided in the award. The Court reviews who are the correct parties based on what the award states. The award stated as respondent the “subsidiary in Costa Rica of the company NCC International A.S., a company incorporated in Sweden.” The application for enforcement was against “NCC AB” and it was not obvious that this was a typo in such manner that “NCC AB” was the company intended in the award. Also, the question whether “NCC AB” had assumed liability for “NCC AS” obligations under the award may not be reviewed within the scope of an application for enforcement. The Court dismissed the application.