Scenario and Problems The conflict between Russia and Ukraine continued to elicit international reactions from States beyond the pair at the epicentre of concern. Just a few months ago, the Secretary of State of the United States issued a press statement, announcing sanctions on USM Holdings owned by the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov and his other companies, in cooperation with the UK. The actions involve blocking all property and interests in property of the designated companies. USM Holdings criticised the financial measures for being ‘unfair and unreasonable’, citing Usmanov’s holdings ..read more

On 18 October 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice agreed to a historic plea deal in the Lafarge proceedings, marking a significant development in the field of corporate accountability and terrorism. In the first ever U.S. prosecution of its kind, the Lafarge corporation (at the time one of the two largest construction companies in the world) and its subsidiary, Lafarge Cement Syria (‘LCS’), were sentenced to $778 million in financial penalties for providing material support to terrorist organizations (‘the Lafarge Settlement’). This post reviews the fine and asset forfeiture compon ..read more

Introduction As the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine continues into its second year, Ukraine’s reconstruction and recovery is estimated by the World Bank to cost, at a minimum, $411 billion. With no realistic prospect of a negotiated settlement to the conflict in sight, Ukraine and its international partners are rightfully seeking pathways to fund the rebuilding of Ukrainian infrastructure and the compensation of millions of Ukrainians that have suffered during the conflict, among other priorities. Particular attention has been paid to the possibility of seizing the assets ..read more

Introduction As of 21 July 2022, the European Union (EU) has adopted seven rounds of restrictive measures (commonly referred to as ‘sanctions’) against the Russian Federation following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The latest two rounds (adopted on 3 June and 21 July 2022, respectively) – in addition to containing measures aimed at harming Russia’s economy – target certain Russian military officers with asset freezes and EU entry bans. Notably, those listed on 3 June were described by the European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen as ‘high-ranking military off ..read more

Much has been written and reported in the past 100 days since the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine, regarding all manner of mass atrocity crimes, continuing egregious human rights violations, war crimes and grave breaches of the 1949 Geneva Conventions and other sources of international humanitarian law.  In February, I wrote about international law duties not to recognize the unabashedly admitted illegal acts of aggression, violation of the use of force, and outright annexation being committed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.  A laudable proposal for an International Cl ..read more

Private Supplements to Public Regulation Commercial actors around the world are reacting to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by voluntarily reducing their exposure to Russia-connected trades. Although the economic sanctions imposed by the EU, UK, US, Japan, and other major powers have been rapid and sweeping, the deliberate choice by the business community to willingly de-couple from Russia-linked transactions has further amplified the force of the collective response. As sanctioning authorities bar a range of private sector activities with a Russia nexus, commercial entities have mobilized to wi ..read more

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States, Europe and other allies imposed sanctions on Russia for violating the prohibition against the use of force, a peremptory norm owed to the international community as a whole. While the ability of these sanctions per se to put a swift end to Russia’s invasion has been doubted (see here, here and here), recently, several states have arguably taken actions that undermine any impact the sanctions may have. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been in the forefront of the news for refusing President Biden’s plea to increase ..read more

Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has invited global censure. States have resorted to sanctions against Russian institutions and individuals. Response by non-state actors includes MNCs suspending their operations, boycotts, condemnations, cancellation of cultural events and banning of Russian athletes and teams from participating in international sports. On 28 February 2022, FIFA and UEFA, the global and European governing bodies of football, issued a joint statement. They decided that “Russian teams, whether national representative teams or club teams, shall be suspended from participatio ..read more

The viciousness of the Russian armed attack on Ukraine means that avenues for accountability are at a premium. Ukraine’s major cities, including Kyiv, Kharkiv and Chernihiv, had been withstanding a days-long barrage of indiscriminate shelling and missile strikes. War crimes have evidently been committed while Russian state media is praising President Putin for, chillingly, attempting a ‘solution to the Ukrainian question’. For its part, Russia is vowing to fight ‘till the end’ to ‘de-Nazify’ a multilingual, multi-ethnic Ukraine with its Russian-speaking, Jewish president. This is hardly a mom ..read more

In reaction to the incorporation of Crimea into the Russian Federation, I had written that the use of Russian armed force against Ukraine is contrary to one of the most fundamental principles of contemporary international law and can be qualified as an “aggression” (Le Monde, 14 March 2014). This applies all the more to the use of armed force against Ukraine as a whole (and not only against the separatist regions of Lugansk and Donetsk. Despite the positions I had publicly taken, I was approached by the Russian authorities to participate in Russia’s defence before the International Court of J ..read more