REUTERS
In November 26, 2018, the Arbitration Court in Paris rendered a verdict in favor of Oschadbank to recover from Russia $1.3 billion in losses incurred by the bank as a result of Russia's annexation of Crimea.
Ukraine's state-run Oschadbank (Savings Bank) says the decision by the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris on the dispute between Oschadbank and Russia can be enforced in 154 foreign countries.
According to international law, there are many different mechanisms for enforcing the decisions of international judicial institutions, the Oschadbank's press service told Ekonomichna Pravda, a Ukrainian business news outlet.
In particular, the compulsory enforcement is possible at the expense of Russia's state ownership.
"As a general rule, property belonging to the state is protected by special immunity and as a result, no property can be levied. At the same time, if the state property is used for commercial purposes, the immunity of such property is not granted," the press service said.
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Accordingly, the execution of a court decision is possible only at the expense of the Russian Federation's property, but which is used for commercial purposes.
Forced enforcement is also possible through the "replacement of the lender."
"In those relations with foreign counterparties where Russia acts as a lender, Oschadbank can ask the court to replace Russia with itself and demand that the bank's debt be paid by the Russia's counterparties (debtors)," it added.
The third option of recovery is at the expense of state-owned companies' property.
"An alternative option is to foreclose on state-owned companies' property, which is located on the territory of third countries through the application of the alter ego doctrine, i.e. the state-owned company is equal to the country itself. The implementation of such an approach is possible in Great Britain, the United States, Canada, France, Sweden, and several other countries," the report said.
Oschadbank reiterated Russia is obliged to pay compensation and interest accrued before the date when the court ruling was handed down at the amount of about US$1.3 billion and interest worth about $16 million accrued after this date, as of May 11, 2019.
Russia's representatives did not attend the dispute consideration. Moreover, the Russian side does not recognize the court ruling.
"Considering the well-known practice of the Russian Federation not to recognize the legal decisions of foreign and arbitration courts, voluntary execution of the decision by Russia can hardly be expected," the press service added.
As reported earlier, in November 26, 2018, the Arbitration Court in Paris rendered a verdict in favor of Oschadbank to recover from Russia $1.3 billion in losses incurred by the bank as a result of Russia's annexation of Crimea.
The Russian Ministry of Justice says the Russian Federation does not recognize the decision of international arbitration and will not compensate the said losses to Oschadbank.