The English Rule v. The American Rule - En komparativ studie i hur rättegångskostnader fördelas i dispositiva tvistemål i Sverige och USA
(2017) LAGF03 20172Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- I det svenska rättssystemet fördelas rättegångskostnader i tvistemål i enlighet med The English Rule. Huvudregeln är att den förlorande parten, utöver att denne får stå sina egna rättegångskostnader, åläggs att betala motpartens kostnader. Regler för hur rättegångskostnader fördelas i det svenska rätts-systemet återfinns framför allt i 18 kap. rättegångsbalken. Till huvudregeln finns ett flertal undantag. De allmänna undantagen, som återfinns i 18 kap. rättegångsbalken, medför att avsteg ska göras från huvudregeln om en av parterna orsakar motparten skada genom en onödig rättegång eller fördyrar processen för motparten genom försumlighet. Detsamma gäller om parterna ömsom vinner och förlorar. Det finns dessutom ett flertal specialundantag,... (More)
- I det svenska rättssystemet fördelas rättegångskostnader i tvistemål i enlighet med The English Rule. Huvudregeln är att den förlorande parten, utöver att denne får stå sina egna rättegångskostnader, åläggs att betala motpartens kostnader. Regler för hur rättegångskostnader fördelas i det svenska rätts-systemet återfinns framför allt i 18 kap. rättegångsbalken. Till huvudregeln finns ett flertal undantag. De allmänna undantagen, som återfinns i 18 kap. rättegångsbalken, medför att avsteg ska göras från huvudregeln om en av parterna orsakar motparten skada genom en onödig rättegång eller fördyrar processen för motparten genom försumlighet. Detsamma gäller om parterna ömsom vinner och förlorar. Det finns dessutom ett flertal specialundantag, utspridda i en mängd lagar, som tar sikte på specifika situationer.
I det svenska rättssystemet finns stöd för obemedlade parter vars syfte är att minska den ekonomiska skadan ett negativt domstolsutslag kan ha på den förlorande parten. Dels finns det ett statligt stöd i form av rättshjälp. Rättshjälp beviljas enbart för en parts egna rättegångskostnader vilket innebär att parten själv måste betala motpartens rättegångskostnader. Rättshjälp är sekundärt i förhållande till rättsskyddsförsäkringar och andra rättsskydd. Rättsskyddsförsäkringar tillhandahålls av privata försäkringsbolag och ersätter såväl den förlorande partens kostnader som motpartens.
I det amerikanska rättssystemet tillämpas The American Rule vars huvudregel är att parterna betalar sina egna rättegångskostnader, oavsett utgången i målet. Då USA tillämpar common law bygger regleringen till stor del på praxis. Från huvudregeln finns undantag i såväl lagstiftning som praxis. De lagstiftande undantagen tar sikte på särskilda måltyper och specifika situationer. De allmänna undantagen återfinns i praxis och ger domstolen möjligheten att göra avsteg från huvudregeln om omständigheterna i målet talar för det, t.ex. om en av parterna agerar försumligt eller på ett otillåtet sätt skadar motparten ekonomiskt med sin processföring.
I det amerikanska rättssystemet finns det ingen egentlig motsvarighet till rättshjälp, däremot kan obemedlade parter erhålla hjälp via legal aid i form av kostnadsfri juridisk rådgivning eller pro bono-arbete. Det är dessutom vanligt att obemedlade parter ingår contingency-avtal med sitt ombud vilket innebär att ombudet får betalt i form av en procentandel av en eventuell ersättning från motparten.
Det finns för- och nackdelar med hur rättegångskostnader fördelas i både det svenska och det amerikanska rättssystemet. I en situation kan det ena systemet vara mer fördelaktigt och i en annan kan det andra systemet vara mer fördelaktigt. Det går därför inte att säga att det ena systemet är överlägset det andra. (Less) - Abstract
- In the Swedish legal system, litigation expenses are distributed according to The English Rule. The rule is that the losing party of the trial is obliged to pay the opposing party’s litigation expenses, as well as its own. Distribution of litigation expenses is mainly regulated in the 18th chapter of the Code of Judicial Procedure (rättegångsbalken).
The English Rule is not without exceptions. There are both general and special exceptions to the rule. The general exceptions can be found in the 18th chapter of the Code of Judicial Procedure and are applicable when a party causes the opposing party economic injury by launching an unnecessary trial or by negligent litigation. An exception to the rule can also be made when both parties win... (More) - In the Swedish legal system, litigation expenses are distributed according to The English Rule. The rule is that the losing party of the trial is obliged to pay the opposing party’s litigation expenses, as well as its own. Distribution of litigation expenses is mainly regulated in the 18th chapter of the Code of Judicial Procedure (rättegångsbalken).
The English Rule is not without exceptions. There are both general and special exceptions to the rule. The general exceptions can be found in the 18th chapter of the Code of Judicial Procedure and are applicable when a party causes the opposing party economic injury by launching an unnecessary trial or by negligent litigation. An exception to the rule can also be made when both parties win and lose alternately. The special exceptions can be found in several different laws throughout the Swedish legal system and are applicable in certain situations.
The Swedish legal system has several types of support that a losing party, of lesser means, can use to help cope with litigation expenses. The Swedish government offers support for parties of lesser means called rättshjälp, which only aids with the losing party’s own litigation expenses. However, rättshjälp is secondary to legal expenses insurance and other types of rättsskydd. Legal expenses insurance is provided by private insurance companies and aids with both the losing party’s own litigation expenses as well as the opposing party’s expenses.
The American legal system distributes litigation expenses according to The American Rule. This means that each party pay their own litigation expenses regardless of the outcome of the trial. There are several exceptions to the rule, both in legislation and in case law. The legislated exceptions regulate certain situations, while the exceptions found in case law are more general. The exceptions found in case law allow the court to deviate from the rule under certain circumstances. For instance, the court can deviate from the rule if one of the parties act negligent or cause the opposing party economic injury in an illicit way.
There is no equivalent to rättshjälp in the American legal system. However, parties of lesser means can obtain assistance through legal aid in terms of free legal advice or pro bono work. A common practice in the American legal system is contingency agreements. This means that a lawyer agrees to receive their fee in the form of a percentage of the claim that the client may or may not obtain from the opposing party.
The way the Swedish and the American legal systems distribute litigation expenses each have advantages and disadvantages. One system may be more favorable in one situation, while the other may be more favorable in another situation. Therefore, it is not possible to declare that the way one legal system distributes ligation expenses is more advantageous than the other. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8930138
- author
- Norstedt, Jesper LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- LAGF03 20172
- year
- 2017
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- processrätt, komparativ rätt, rättegångskostnader
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 8930138
- date added to LUP
- 2018-02-06 11:55:19
- date last changed
- 2018-02-06 11:55:19
@misc{8930138,
abstract = {{In the Swedish legal system, litigation expenses are distributed according to The English Rule. The rule is that the losing party of the trial is obliged to pay the opposing party’s litigation expenses, as well as its own. Distribution of litigation expenses is mainly regulated in the 18th chapter of the Code of Judicial Procedure (rättegångsbalken).
The English Rule is not without exceptions. There are both general and special exceptions to the rule. The general exceptions can be found in the 18th chapter of the Code of Judicial Procedure and are applicable when a party causes the opposing party economic injury by launching an unnecessary trial or by negligent litigation. An exception to the rule can also be made when both parties win and lose alternately. The special exceptions can be found in several different laws throughout the Swedish legal system and are applicable in certain situations.
The Swedish legal system has several types of support that a losing party, of lesser means, can use to help cope with litigation expenses. The Swedish government offers support for parties of lesser means called rättshjälp, which only aids with the losing party’s own litigation expenses. However, rättshjälp is secondary to legal expenses insurance and other types of rättsskydd. Legal expenses insurance is provided by private insurance companies and aids with both the losing party’s own litigation expenses as well as the opposing party’s expenses.
The American legal system distributes litigation expenses according to The American Rule. This means that each party pay their own litigation expenses regardless of the outcome of the trial. There are several exceptions to the rule, both in legislation and in case law. The legislated exceptions regulate certain situations, while the exceptions found in case law are more general. The exceptions found in case law allow the court to deviate from the rule under certain circumstances. For instance, the court can deviate from the rule if one of the parties act negligent or cause the opposing party economic injury in an illicit way.
There is no equivalent to rättshjälp in the American legal system. However, parties of lesser means can obtain assistance through legal aid in terms of free legal advice or pro bono work. A common practice in the American legal system is contingency agreements. This means that a lawyer agrees to receive their fee in the form of a percentage of the claim that the client may or may not obtain from the opposing party.
The way the Swedish and the American legal systems distribute litigation expenses each have advantages and disadvantages. One system may be more favorable in one situation, while the other may be more favorable in another situation. Therefore, it is not possible to declare that the way one legal system distributes ligation expenses is more advantageous than the other.}},
author = {{Norstedt, Jesper}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The English Rule v. The American Rule - En komparativ studie i hur rättegångskostnader fördelas i dispositiva tvistemål i Sverige och USA}},
year = {{2017}},
}