It was a pleasure to host, and exchange views with, Roland M. Stein (BLOMSTEIN) at our latest Lunch Bowl, where we navigated the landscape of trade law sanctions against Russia and Belarus. What sounds technical has very real consequences for businesses.
We explored key issues like:
💡 How do current trade sanctions impact ongoing international agreements?
Roland highlighted how sudden regulatory shifts can render performance illegal overnight, forcing companies to rapidly reassess their contractual obligations.
💡 What exactly is the „no claims clause“ under Article 11 of EU Regulation 833/2014, and how does its dual effect operate in practice?
Roland explained the dual effect of this provision: it acts as a protective shield for EU companies against liability for non-performance, while simultaneously prohibiting the satisfaction of claims brought by sanctioned Russian entities.
💡 What happens to contracts you simply cannot perform anymore, or obligations that suddenly become legally impossible to fulfill?
Roland discussed the practical steps businesses must take when navigating force majeure and impossibility.
Roland also shared insights on pending trade law litigation, giving us a practical overview on how these sanctions disputes, like excise tax disputes and complex injunction procedures, are playing out in European courts.
For those looking to dive deeper into this topic, we recommend checking out his guest appearance on the EMBARGOED! podcast, where he discusses the evolution of sanctions enforcement in Germany (Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0OrvMNUHyV7HhVqNPSw8I3?si=OhYyNAm3QUqeFvinoHnE4A&nd=1&dlsi=bbc30503231145ba; Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/2022-the-year-sanctions-came-of-age-in-germany/id1498136806?i=1000601300422).
To round off the session, Roland joined the Arbitrattoria lunch hosted by our Indian colleague Kulsum Ansari, a perfect setting to wrap up the afternoon and continue the conversation.
Big thanks to Roland for shedding light on such a critical topic, and to Yagmur Sapci for putting together this event report for LinkedIn! 🙌
Arbitration TradeLaw Sanctions Compliance EULaw Russia Belarus DisputeResolution BLOMSTEIN
