A distinction is made between judgments, final decisions and non-final decisions. A court’s determination on the merits of the matter at issue is made in a judgment, a separate judgment or an interlocutory judgment. Judgments and separate judgments by a district court can be appealed to the relevant court of appeal within three weeks from the date of the judgment. Judgments and separate judgments by a court of appeal can be appealed to the Supreme Court within four weeks from the date of the judgment. When a district court or court of appeal renders an interlocutory judgment, it shall decide whether such judgment can be appealed separately or only in connection with the final judgment.
A court’s determination of other matters is made by a decision. A decision that disassociates a court from the matter at issue is a final decision, e.g., a decision to dismiss an application for a summons. All other decisions are non-final. Swedish courts rarely provide elaborate reasons for their decisions.
As a general rule, only final decisions can be separately appealed, i.e., appealed separately from a judgment, to a court of appeal or the Supreme Court, as the case may be. However, there are exceptions to this rule and several non-final decisions may also be separately appealed.
Appealed judgments and decisions will only be assessed by the superior court if such court grants leave to appeal. A court of appeal shall grant leave to appeal if (i) there is reason to believe that the district court has come to an erroneous conclusion, (ii) it is not possible to assess the correctness of the district court’s judgement or decision, (iii) it is of importance for the guidance of the application of law that a superior court considers the appeal, or (iv) there are extraordinary reasons to entertain the appeal. The Supreme Court shall only grant leave to appeal if item (iii) or (iv) is at hand.