The general contract law in Sweden is regulated by the law on contracts and other legal acts in the field of property law, often called the contract law. The main rule in contract law is that you are free to enter into agreements, and bound to fulfill them once you have done so, the duty of loyalty is important to remember. The title of the law already suggests that an agreement is a type of legal act. A contractual relationship is based on reciprocity and a declaration of intent between the parties, ie the common will of the parties. It is always advisable to enter into written agreements before oral agreements because it is then written down what the parties have agreed. The Contracts Act is in some parts dispositive, which means that the parties can deviate from the rules of the Contracts Act as part of the legal act. In other parts, the law is mandatory. The law deals with the conclusion of agreements (agreements), legal documents by proxy and the validity of legal documents. The name of the law states that the law applies to property law agreements, but the law also applies by analogy to other types of agreement, e.g. in family law. Contract interpretation, where there are no generally applicable legal rules, is thus regularly referred to the Contracts Act.

The special contract law, also called contract law, instead deals with rules for specific agreements. Contract law thus regulates the rights and obligations of the contracting parties when a binding and valid agreement has been concluded, e.g. purchase agreement or lease agreement.

A basic principle in contract law is pacta sunt servanda, ie agreements are binding. Another important basic principle of contract law is that agreements have a binding effect exclusively for the parties to the contract. The parties can therefore not oblige third parties to perform. In addition, the agreement may be adjusted in a possible examination if the balance of power between the parties is distorted.