No legal obstacles to confiscation of Russian sovereign assets – Ministry of Justice
The Ministry of Justice does not see any legal risks of confiscation of frozen sovereign assets of Russia in favor of Ukraine, Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Representation of the Ministry of Justice Mykola Yurlov said at the discussion of the Centre for Economic Strategy Frozen Russian assets: how to confiscate in favor of Ukraine.
According to him, with regard to potential arbitration proceedings, the Ministry of Justice does not see an instance where the Russian Federation could turn to appeal the decision to seize its sovereign assets.
"This is not like the mechanism for resolving disputes between investors and the state, because Russia, obviously, will not be a foreign investor who is protected by a bilateral investment treaty," Yurlov explained.
The deputy director clarified that the mechanism of intergovernmental agreements on the promotion and mutual protection of investments is intended for private investors.
"Russia is not like that. These are sovereign assets, they do not qualify as foreign investments within the meaning of any bilateral agreement, so there are no legal obstacles here," Yurlov concluded.