The Swedish Court of Appeal (Court) has requested a preliminary
ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to
clarify the effect and scope of Russia-related sanctions. The
anticipated ruling by the CJEU will have important implications for
the arbitrability of disputes affected by Russia-related
sanctions.
Arbitral tribunal finds the dispute arbitrable
In 2015, JSC VO Stankoimport (Stankoimport), a Russian buyer,
and NV Reibel (Reibel), a Belgian seller, concluded a contract over
the supply of goods. The contract was governed by Swedish law and
contained an arbitration clause with a Swedish seat.
Stankoimport prepaid part of the contract price to Reibel. In
March 2017, a Belgian authority refused to issue a license for
Reibel to export the goods to Stankoimport, finding that exporting
the goods would violate European Union (EU) sanctions. An appeal by
Reibel to the Belgian Conseil d'État was
unsuccessful.