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Sweden

The debate on introducing collective redress mechanisms into the Swedish legal system began in the early 1970s and led to the adoption of the Class Action Act (Lag om grupprättegång) in 2002. The Act entered into force on 1st January 2003. It is purely procedural in nature and does not introduce any changes in substantive law.

Since the entry into force of the regulations enabling claims to be pursued in class action proceedings, relatively few class actions have been filed in Swedish courts. Most of the proceedings were brought by private entities acting as representatives of the group. However, class actions are slowly gaining popularity. A class action brought in 2016 against a hospital by three of its former patients gained media attention. Their claims concerned the risk to their health resulting from undergoing surgery in conditions where there was a risk of infection, including HIV. The infection risk was due to one of the hospital’s anesthesiologists, who was addicted to fentanyl (an anesthetic used in surgery). One of the most high-profile cases in recent years is the “Aurora case” (Anton Foley and others v. Sweden). On 25th November 2022 a group of over 600 young people filed a class action against the Swedish state, alleging that the state had failed to take adequate action to combat climate change. According to the claimants, this failure violated their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.
Implementation of Directive 2020/1828
Implementing act Act of 30th November 2023 on class actions for the protection of collective consumer interests (Lag om grupptalan till skydd för konsumenters kollektiva intressen); the Act entered into force on 1st January 2024.
Type of procedure and model Application to the administrative authority

Class action (opt-in model)
Qualified entity to bring an action Consumer organizations and administrative bodies designated by the government
Third-party funding Admissible. A class action for damages may not be funded by a competitor of the defendant or by a person dependent on the defendant.
Facilities for consumers It is possible to appoint another qualified entity during the proceedings (if the entity is dismissed or uses prohibited funding)
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Update: February/March 2025