Arbitration in a Time of Sanctions

Since the 1960s but mostly since 1979, the issue of sanctions and international arbitration have been intertwined.

As of 2014 and then 2022, the Russian sanctions following its aggression against Ukraine has brought a renewed focus to it even though it has been a constant issue with a number of different sanctions regimes, including those relating to Cuba, Iran, Libya or Venezuela. The resulting sanction regimes may have had, over time, an extensive impact on disputes related to energy, commodities, cross-border investment as well as indirect consequences on construction, finance and even manufacturing ones.

The consequences for international arbitration are numerous and will have an impact on its conduct: asset freeze, payment of arbitration fees, third-party funding, counsel representation, travel bans up until the satisfaction of the arbitral award itself.

With due process issues, equality of arms and potential denial of justice, this panel aims at obtaining the views of all the actors in such a procedure (the user of arbitration, the institution, the arbitrator and the counsel) to better understand the actual consequences and risks for the arbitration process generally.