In mid-2020, changes were enacted to the Russian Arbitrazh (Commercial) Procedure Code (“APC”) which established the exclusive jurisdiction of Russian Arbitrazh courts over cases where a Russian party is subject to sanctions or where the dispute has arisen out of sanctions.
This raised concerns that sanctioned Russian parties would be able to easily avoid arbitration clauses they had entered into.
However, the Russian Supreme Court has recently found that arbitration clauses with sanctioned Russian parties are only invalidated when sanctions render them incapable of being performed.
Partner, Evgeniya Rubinina, explores the issue further on the Kluwers Arbitration Blog.