At the personal level, I came to regard Sergei as a good friend. I was invited by him and his wife Asya to their dacha south of Moscow, and my wife and I also enjoyed having them both as dinner guests at our home in Stockholm.
The services that Sergei rendered to the Swedish arbitration community received a well-deserved recognition when in 2003 King Carl XVI Gustaf bestowed on him the insignia as Commander of the Royal Order of the Polar Star, a distinction of which he was rightly proud.
On 19 and 20 January 2017, the Arbitration Institute of the SCC celebrated in solemn forms its 100th anniversary. Although Sergei was no longer alive, his work as an arbitrator, often under the aegis of the SCC, had not been forgotten during the celebrations. A film entitled “Quiet Triumph: How Arbitration Changed the World” and depicting the SCC and its growing activities since its creation had been prepared and had its premiere on 19 January 2017 at a well-known cinema in central Stockholm. Several persons who had made important contributions to the activities of the SCC appeared on the screen and told the public of their experiences. One of them was Sergei. His role as one of the originators of the 1977 Agreement was emphasized in the film as well as the recognition he received in 2003 by being appointed Commander of the Order of the Polar Star.
Sergei was a true gentleman and there are many lawyers in Sweden and in other countries who will remember him as a good friend and a pleasant companion in pursuit of a fair outcome of complex commercial disputes. There can be no doubt that his death is a heavy loss for the international arbitration community.
Justice Hans Danelius, Former Justice of the Supreme Court of Sweden
А.И. Лобода: Сергей Николаевич был способен буквально заражать людей рядом с собой своей манерой поведения…
Выдержка из приводимой в разделе 7 настоящей части статьи А.И. Лободы «С.Н. Лебедев – ученый, практик, педагог, дипломат».
<…> Ценно еще и то, что профессор Лебедев оказывает на своих учеников и другое, неявное, но не менее сильное воздействие. Я имею в виду стилистическое влияние Сергея Николаевича на наше профессиональное сословие. Я бы, пожалуй, даже рискнул назвать его «иконой стиля» юриста-международника. Дело в том, что Сергей Николаевич способен с годами буквально заражать людей рядом с собой своей манерой поведения.