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LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Förekomsten av lojalitetsplikt i kommersiella avtalsförhållanden i relation till utvecklingen av Högsta domstolens prejudikatbildning

Rentschler, Marcus LU (2022) JURM02 20222
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract (Swedish)
Lojalitetsplikten i kommersiella avtalsförhållanden kan definieras som skyl-digheten för parterna i relationen att tillvarata motpartens intressen utöver sina egna. Lojalitetsplikten kan härledas långt tillbaka i historien men det är först under 1900-talets andra hälft som saker började hända och denna utveckling tog rejäl fart under de senaste ca 20 åren. Lojal samverkan mellan parterna står ibland i kontrast till partsautonomin vilken länge har dominerat i svensk av-talsrätt. Lojalitetsplikten är inte kodifierad i svensk avtalsrätt men gäller tvek-löst som en allmän rättsprincip vilket kan utläsas ur förarbeten, doktrin samt praxis från Högsta domstolen (hädanefter HD). Åsikterna skiljer sig däremot vad gäller lojalitetspliktens vara... (More)
Lojalitetsplikten i kommersiella avtalsförhållanden kan definieras som skyl-digheten för parterna i relationen att tillvarata motpartens intressen utöver sina egna. Lojalitetsplikten kan härledas långt tillbaka i historien men det är först under 1900-talets andra hälft som saker började hända och denna utveckling tog rejäl fart under de senaste ca 20 åren. Lojal samverkan mellan parterna står ibland i kontrast till partsautonomin vilken länge har dominerat i svensk av-talsrätt. Lojalitetsplikten är inte kodifierad i svensk avtalsrätt men gäller tvek-löst som en allmän rättsprincip vilket kan utläsas ur förarbeten, doktrin samt praxis från Högsta domstolen (hädanefter HD). Åsikterna skiljer sig däremot vad gäller lojalitetspliktens vara eller icke vara utanför en helhetsbedömning, alltså som en självständig grund för talan. Jori Munukka gav år 2007 ut sin avhandling som behandlade ämnet vilket ledde till en debatt där olika jurister lyfte fram optimistiska och pessimistiska argument, detta skedde parallellt med en utveckling på området i HD:s praxis.
Omsättningsmålet (NJA 2021 s. 943) som avgjordes den 1 december förra året banade väg för en ny era inom svensk avtalsrätt i allmänhet och lojalitets-plikten i synnerhet. Efter en rad avgöranden där lojalitetsplikten givits större utrymme kunde HD i förevarande fall konstatera att en talan kunde vinna bi-fall helt på grunden bristande lojalitet vid en företagsöverlåtelse, detta trots att parterna inte avtalat om en sådan klausul om krav på lojal samverkan. Lojali-tetsplikten kan alltså med denna praxis i beaktande skapa sidoförpliktelser som inte framgår i avtalets ordalydelse. HD har i sig genomgått en förändring under de senaste åren, vilket också skapat en debatt om gränsdragningen för dess uppdrag i det svenska rättssamhället.
Flera studier har genomförts av forskande jurister och samtliga är eniga om att HD genomgått en tydlig förändring på relativt kort tid vad gäller dess praxis-bildning, både vad gäller upplägget på domarna i form av utformning och gäl-lande den ökade förekomsten av s.k. obiter dicta, alltså resonemang som inte har en direkt koppling till rättsfrågan. Utvecklingen faller inte alla verksamma jurister i smaken och en debatt om huruvida HD agerar aktivistiskt eller t.o.m. utanför sina befogenheter har blommat upp. Debatten har viss fog för sig då problematiken som belyses hamnar i en gråzon, däremot kan en del av kritiken anses ha fått oproportionerligt stort utrymme. Riksdagen har under en tid se-dan inträdet i Europeiska unionen och den efterföljande europeiseringen av Sveriges rättssystem, agerat handfallet beträffande viss lagstiftning i behov av en översikt och således i viss mån tvingat HD att agera för att kunna avgöra målen som fått prövningstillstånd. HD har tagit på sig en mer aktiv roll i rätts-samhället men med vad som får anses goda intentioner inom dess befogenhet-er. (Less)
Abstract
The principle of loyalty in commercial relations can be defined as an obliga-tion for the parties to safeguard the other party’s interests in addition to their own. The principle of loyalty can be derived far back in history, but it was only during the second half of the 20th century that things started to happen, and this progress took off in the last 20 or so years. Loyal collaboration be-tween the parties sometimes contrasts with party autonomy, which has long dominated Swedish contract law. The principle of loyalty is not codified in Swedish contract law, but undoubtedly applies as a general legal principle, which can be deduced from legal preparatory work, doctrine, and case law from the Swedish Supreme Court (hereinafter the SC).... (More)
The principle of loyalty in commercial relations can be defined as an obliga-tion for the parties to safeguard the other party’s interests in addition to their own. The principle of loyalty can be derived far back in history, but it was only during the second half of the 20th century that things started to happen, and this progress took off in the last 20 or so years. Loyal collaboration be-tween the parties sometimes contrasts with party autonomy, which has long dominated Swedish contract law. The principle of loyalty is not codified in Swedish contract law, but undoubtedly applies as a general legal principle, which can be deduced from legal preparatory work, doctrine, and case law from the Swedish Supreme Court (hereinafter the SC). Opinions differ as to whether the principle of loyalty is or is not found, outside of an overall as-sessment, i.e., as an independent basis to sue. In 2007, Jori Munukka pub-lished his thesis that investigated the subject of the principle of loyalty. His book led to a debate where different lawyers highlighted optimistic and pes-simistic arguments, this happened alongside a development on the same sub-ject in the SC.
The so-called turnover case (NJA 2021 p. 943) which was decided on De-cember 1st last year paved way for a new era in Swedish contract law in gen-eral and for the principle of loyalty in particular. After a series of rulings in which the principle of loyalty was given greater amplitude, the SC was able to state in said case that a claim could win approval based solely on lack of loyal-ty in a corporate acquisition, despite the parties not having agreed on such a clause regarding loyal cooperation. The principle of loyalty can thus, with this case considered, create collateral obligations that do not appear directly in the agreement. The SC itself has been subject to change in recent years, which has also created a debate about the boundaries of its role in the Swedish judicial system.
Several studies have been carried out by lawyers and all agree that the SC has undergone changes in terms of their practice in a relatively short period of time, both regarding the layout of the judgements in the form of writing and regarding the increased occurrence of so-called obiter dicta, meaning reason-ing that does not have a direct connection to the legal issue at hand. This de-velopment is not to everyone’s liking, and a discussion of whether the SC is acting activistic or even outside of its powers has appeared. The worrying party of the debate has some validity since the highlighted problem falls into a grey area, however the proportions of some of the criticisms are unwarranted as the situation is not all that dire. For some time since Sweden’s admission into the European Union and the subsequent Europeanization of Sweden’s judicial system, the Swedish parliament has failed to act on certain legislation in need of an overview and thereby forced the SC to act in order to be able to rule on the cases that have received leave to appeal. The SC has clearly taken a more active position in the judicial system nowadays, but with what has to be considered good intentions within their powers. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Rentschler, Marcus LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
The presence of the principle of loyalty in commercial contractual relations in relation to the development of the precedents in the Swedish Supreme Court
course
JURM02 20222
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
Avtalsrätt, civilrätt, lojalitetsplikt, avtalsförhållanden, Högsta domstolen, judiciell aktivism
language
Swedish
id
9104687
date added to LUP
2023-01-24 08:57:21
date last changed
2023-01-24 08:57:21
@misc{9104687,
  abstract     = {{The principle of loyalty in commercial relations can be defined as an obliga-tion for the parties to safeguard the other party’s interests in addition to their own. The principle of loyalty can be derived far back in history, but it was only during the second half of the 20th century that things started to happen, and this progress took off in the last 20 or so years. Loyal collaboration be-tween the parties sometimes contrasts with party autonomy, which has long dominated Swedish contract law. The principle of loyalty is not codified in Swedish contract law, but undoubtedly applies as a general legal principle, which can be deduced from legal preparatory work, doctrine, and case law from the Swedish Supreme Court (hereinafter the SC). Opinions differ as to whether the principle of loyalty is or is not found, outside of an overall as-sessment, i.e., as an independent basis to sue. In 2007, Jori Munukka pub-lished his thesis that investigated the subject of the principle of loyalty. His book led to a debate where different lawyers highlighted optimistic and pes-simistic arguments, this happened alongside a development on the same sub-ject in the SC. 
The so-called turnover case (NJA 2021 p. 943) which was decided on De-cember 1st last year paved way for a new era in Swedish contract law in gen-eral and for the principle of loyalty in particular. After a series of rulings in which the principle of loyalty was given greater amplitude, the SC was able to state in said case that a claim could win approval based solely on lack of loyal-ty in a corporate acquisition, despite the parties not having agreed on such a clause regarding loyal cooperation. The principle of loyalty can thus, with this case considered, create collateral obligations that do not appear directly in the agreement. The SC itself has been subject to change in recent years, which has also created a debate about the boundaries of its role in the Swedish judicial system. 
Several studies have been carried out by lawyers and all agree that the SC has undergone changes in terms of their practice in a relatively short period of time, both regarding the layout of the judgements in the form of writing and regarding the increased occurrence of so-called obiter dicta, meaning reason-ing that does not have a direct connection to the legal issue at hand. This de-velopment is not to everyone’s liking, and a discussion of whether the SC is acting activistic or even outside of its powers has appeared. The worrying party of the debate has some validity since the highlighted problem falls into a grey area, however the proportions of some of the criticisms are unwarranted as the situation is not all that dire. For some time since Sweden’s admission into the European Union and the subsequent Europeanization of Sweden’s judicial system, the Swedish parliament has failed to act on certain legislation in need of an overview and thereby forced the SC to act in order to be able to rule on the cases that have received leave to appeal. The SC has clearly taken a more active position in the judicial system nowadays, but with what has to be considered good intentions within their powers.}},
  author       = {{Rentschler, Marcus}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Förekomsten av lojalitetsplikt i kommersiella avtalsförhållanden i relation till utvecklingen av Högsta domstolens prejudikatbildning}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}