Article by Katie McDougall, James Rogers and
Ergin Mizrahi
The extensive sanctions imposed following the Russian invasion
of Ukraine have led to many companies reassessing business
relationships. Companies have ceased performing their contractual
obligations, and in many cases have taken steps to terminate
contracts, often making decisions quickly in a high pressure
situation.
This environment has not always allowed companies the time fully
to consider their contractual termination rights prior to exercise,
or sanctions risk has been seen to outweigh disputes risk, and
there is consequently the potential for a significant volume of
commercial disputes to arise in the near future. In many cases the
parties will have provided for such disputes to be determined by
arbitration. Further, sanctions legislation will impact on the
parties' ability to conduct an arbitration (e.g. in the
contractual jurisdiction) and to enforce any award. This article
considers some key
