With the decision by the United States and the European Union to impose sanctions on Russia came a raft of new challenges not ordinarily contemplated even by the most seasoned sanctions experts. Commercial and financial transactions have been heavily impacted by the imposition of constraints on dealings with a major trading power of the West, and the nature of the restrictions is itself unprecedented. Here, Clifford Chance experts explore in the document "Expecting the unexpected – lessons on sanctions and addressing legal uncertainties" some of the contractual clauses and other mechanisms being used in the market, and look at the legal uncertainties that remain unresolved.
In the face of significant uncertainty around the interpretation of aspects of the European Union's "sectoral sanctions" imposed in response to the situation in Ukraine, there was a widespread sense that further guidance was desirable. A long-anticipated response to some of this uncertainty has emerged in the form of Council Regulation (EU) No. 1290/2014 ("Regulation 1290"), published in the EU's Official Journal on 5 December 2014. This issue is discussed in the second document "EU clarifies scope of sectoral sanctions relating to Russia/Ukraine".
Contact: Dr. Peter Dieners (peter.dieners@cliffordchance.com)
I_Lessons on sanctions and addressing legal uncertainties
II_EU clarifies scope of sectoral sanctions relating to Russia