On 1 November 2023, the English High Court (“EWHC”) delivered its decision in Hulley Enterprises Limited v. Russian Federation. The EWHC dismissed the jurisdictional challenge raised by the Russian Federation (“RF”), which contested the enforcement of arbitral awards in favour of the former majority shareholders of OAO Yukos Oil Company (“Yukos”). Despite the RF asserting…

The Fourth Edition of the Washington Arbitration Week (WAW) took place from 27 November to 1 December 2023. This post highlights the panel titled ‘The Ukraine Crisis and Post-War Scenarios’. Jose Antonio Rivas, SJD (co-founder of WAW/Xtrategy), introduced the panel by remarking that despite the fact that the Russian invasion had already lasted for almost…

Security for costs can be an effective tool to protect the respondent from an arbitration in which a potential costs claim against the claimant is irrecoverable. While the specific requirements for a security for costs order are determined by the applicable institutional rules or arbitration laws, the respondent applying for security for costs will generally…

The requirement that a tribunal be impartial is a fundamental procedural principle. It is not surprising, then, that under Art. 18 of the Russian Arbitration Act, arbitration proceedings are conducted, first and foremost, based on the principle of impartiality and independence of arbitrators. Although the Russian International Arbitration Act, based on UNCITRAL Model Law 1985,…

The landscape for Russia-related disputes in London has changed significantly in the last year. The panel of Egishe Dzhazoyan (King & Spalding), Katia Finkel (Baker & McKenzie), Valery Knyazev (Kroll) and Tatiana Minaeva (RPC) moderated by Baiju Vasani (Twenty Essex) discussed shifting trends, challenges arising from international sanctions, enforcement issues, and potential opportunities for dispute…

Much has been written on countermeasures enacted by States against Russia (e.g., here, here, here), but to the extent that States’ measures in response to Russia’s breaches of international law have violated the protections owed to Russian private investors, can States still claim that these measures are lawful countermeasures? And, if and when these Russian…

Although the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted almost everywhere and in-person events have returned to full swing, Kyiv Arbitration Days 2022 (KAD), the most famous Ukrainian arbitration event, was still held online. The title of the conference – “After the war: The legal battles” – speaks for itself. While the war is still ongoing and…

On 24th of February 2022, the Russian Federation commenced a full-scale and open invasion of Ukraine after annexation of Crimea and eight years of hiding behind its puppet republics, the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. The main difference between the start of armed conflict in the Donbas region in 2014 and the start of…

The year 2022 saw French and Dutch courts upholding arbitration awards which condemned Russia for breaches of the 1998 BIT between Russia and Ukraine (“Russia-Ukraine BIT”) through actions in the Crimea peninsula after its annexation in 2014. The arbitration cases in the context of which the awards were issued (the “Crimea cases”) have a common…

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created an environment ripe for controversy and disputes, some of which may be resolved in arbitration. International sanctions against Russia have been previously discussed on the Blog from the perspective of the EU (here and here), the US (see here) and in relation to potential investment claims (in particular under…

Over the past few weeks, Russia has announced a “partial mobilisation,” has illegally annexed the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine, and has repeatedly threatened to use weapons of mass destruction, thereby ruthlessly escalating its war of aggression against Ukraine. In response, the EU has imposed its eighth package of sanctions against Russia…

On 21 July 2022, the European Council adopted Decision (CFSP) 2022/1271 amending Decision 2014/512/CFSP and Council Regulation (EU) 2022/1269 amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine. One of the amendments introduced by the European Council appears to have assuaged the concerns of arbitral institutions…

Following the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, dozens of states imposed sanctions against Russia. In response, Russia imposed or threatened to impose severe countermeasures on foreign investments associated with such “unfriendly states”. In this regard, several news outlets reported that Russia is in the process of implementing legislation that will interfere with foreign investments in…

On May 2, 2021, the ICC Austria organized a seminar on investment protection in Russia in light of its limited-scope investment agreements and the ongoing military crisis. The key speakers were Dr. Herfried Wöss, a partner of Woess & Partners LLC and founder of the Investment Arbitration Forum, and Prof. Dr. Nikos Lavranos, Of Counsel at…

The commencement of the war in Ukraine triggered the imposition of unprecedented sanctions affecting almost all sectors of the Russian economy. Many foreign companies operating in Russia ceased or temporarily put on hold their business activities. In response, the Russian government adopted several retaliatory measures. This post offers an overview of these measures and their…

The Russian aggression in Ukraine has not only brought immense human tragedy, but also unprecedented uncertainty upon the European energy markets. Gas supply has emerged as a particularly weak spot of the entire European economy, being massively overdependent on Russian supplies. When Russian President Vladimir Putin issued the infamous Presidential Decree No. 172 of 31…

As part of the 2022 Paris Arbitration Week, Jeantet organised a conference on “The impact of Russian sanctions on international commercial arbitration: from arbitrability to enforcement”. The panel was composed of Crina Baltag (Associate Professor, Stockholm University; and Editor of the Kluwer Arbitration Blog), David Lasfargue (Partner, Jeantet), Niamh Leinwather (Secretary General, VIAC), Evgenyia Rubinina…

When and how arbitral tribunals should give effect to international sanctions is a long-standing question in international arbitration. Unilateral economic sanctions have been traditionally characterised as factual impediments that could trigger force majeure or frustration of purpose defences. However, a growing number of scholars and practitioners have criticised this factual approach and have advocated for…

Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine consolidated the international community in strong political condemnation and accompanying legal sanctions against vital sectors of the Russian economy. International business followed suit with more and more multinational companies ceasing their investments in Russia or pulling out their businesses entirely. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the Russian response…

In late 2021, the Kluwer Arbitration Blog published a series of posts regarding issues faced by arbitral and financial institutions as a result of restrictions on transfers of funds under both primary and secondary sanctions programmes, and in particular on the potential effects of asset freezes, as well as on restrictions that form part of…

All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered. (UN Charter, Art. 2.3) The peaceful settlement of international disputes is a fundamental principle of international law. While it can be debated precisely when or where this common principle emerged, it…

One often maps the path of history as the sordid account of one bloody war after another.  But if one were to mark history by the great moments of peace, then the modern era began at 2:00 p.m. on May 18, 1899.  From across the globe, representatives of the world’s most powerful nations gathered for…

As previously reported, in mid-2020, changes were enacted to the Russian Arbitrazh (Commercial) Procedure Code (“APC”) to establish the exclusive jurisdiction of Russian Arbitrazh courts over cases where a Russian party is subject to sanctions or where the dispute has arisen out of sanctions. This triggered concerns that sanctioned Russian parties would be able to…

This entry is the last in a series of three regarding issues faced by arbitral and financial institutions as a result of restrictions on transfers of funds under primary and secondary sanctions programmes. In the first post, the authors addressed the impact of asset freezes on arbitral institutions and their banks, while the second post…