Members and staff of the Swedish Securities Council may not participate in the hearing of a case if there are circumstances that could call into question the impartiality of the member or rapporteur. The Swedish Securities Council’s cases are processed in such a way that any possible conflict of interest can be identified as early as possible during the proceedings.
If a case to be examined by the Council is preceded by contact between the petitioner and a member of the Council secretariat, the petitioner will be asked if he or she knows which other advisers etc. are working with the transaction in question. On the basis of this information, the Council may make an initial assessment of whether there could be a conflict of interest for any of the members of the Council which would mean that they should not be asked to participate in the matter. The Council also checks against a full list of board assignments that each Council member has.
When a petition to be considered at a meeting has been submitted to the Council, a number of members are asked whether they are able to attend the scheduled meeting. Members at this stage do not receive information about the persons or companies involved in the case.
Once it has been provisionally determined which Council members are to participate, they will be informed about the persons and companies that the case involves. Members are then given an opportunity to report any potential conflict of interest. If no conflicts of interests are reported, the petition is sent to the Council members appointed to the case, who will then have an additional opportunity to assess whether a conflict of interest exists.
Primarily, it is the Council members themselves, often in consultation with the Council secretariat, who determine whether they are to be regarded as unable to participate in the hearing of a case due to a conflict of interest. The matter can also be referred to the Council.
Any invited Council member who is active at a law firm performs a routine check for any conflict of interest to ensure that no person at the same firm has any assignment that could constitute a conflict of interest when the member participates in the hearing of a case. Equivalent controls exist for Council members who work at banks or securities firms.