The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) decided on January 25, 2024, under case number IX ZR 19/22, that without authorization from the German Federal Bank, frozen funds and economic resources cannot be seized under Regulation (EU) 2016/44. The case involved G. GmbH, which secured an arbitration award against the Libyan state fund L., entitling it […]
Category: Arbitration
Ping-Pong decisions on jurisdiction – to arbitrate or not to arbitrate, that is the question
This article is the second part of the discussion of the judgement of the Higher Regional Court of Berlin no. 12 SchH 5/22 and aims to examine the phenomenon that courts in different jurisdictions (in this case, in Russia and in Germany) determine the competence to decide a dispute in exactly opposite ways: The Russian […]
Russian courts’ new approach to reciprocity: Post-sanctions compliance
The Moscow District Arbitrazh Court refused to recognize decisions from US courts, stating a lack of evidence of reciprocity under international principles. Decisions made before February 28, 2022, were considered irrelevant in the ruling (case No. A40-242631/2022, dated 24 July 2023) The court cited Government Decree No. 430-r of March 5, 2022, which listed “unfriendly […]
No means to overturn legal mistakes of an Arbitral Tribunal
On December 21, 2023, the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) – in overturning a decision by the Cologne Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht, OLG Köln) – clarified the standards for the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Germany, emphasizing the principle that limits the scope of review by German courts to the […]
The ongoing legal saga: Court bans Finland’s Wartsila from suing a Russian plant abroad
A court in St. Petersburg has forbidden the Finnish company, Wartsila, from pursuing or continuing arbitration proceedings abroad against a Russian plant. This decision follows the court’s earlier rejection of Baltic Plant’s €7.6 million claim against Wartsila for non-compliance with six independent guarantees. Background facts The guarantees were related to a contract with the Russian […]
Russian arbitral awards are still being recognised in Uzbekistan despite Western sanctions
The Supreme Court of Uzbekistan ruled on the recognition and enforcement of a Russian arbitral award in the context of US sanctions. EU and US sanctions against Russia are not an obstacle to the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards issued by Russian courts – a case from Uzbekistan. In Case No. 4-10-2225/540, JSC “Uzbekneftegaz” […]
What are the chances of a foreign claimant to succeed in a Russian court?
Photo published on Vecteezy Recently, during the 12th Asia Pacific International Legal Forum, the Chairman of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Lebedev reported that the total number of economic disputes involving foreign parties has increased by 60%, to 10.6 thousand in the first half of 2023. Whereas 93% of disputes were resolved […]