<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>This study provides an in-depth examination of the legal bases for current asset freezes in the European Union (EU) and the United States (US), and how these differ from confiscations of Russian state assets. It explores the evolving political deliberations that have led to new goals of making reparations to Ukraine, which has suffered extensive damage estimated at more than 600 billion euros as a result of Russia's invasion. The primary focus of this study is on the potential confiscation of frozen state assets of Russia as a means to achieve reparations. Western governments have initiated comprehensive assessments of avenues to perform permanent asset seizures, with the overarching goal of strengthening the tracing, identification, freezing and management of assets as preliminary steps for potential confiscation. The study discusses the legislative pitfalls associated with sovereign asset confiscation, its challenges and limitations. It highlights how the principle of sovereign equality of states can hinder such actions, protecting the assets of Russia's central bank from court proceedings and execution in another state. Despite Russia's actions contravening the fundamental norms of international law, interpretations of customary international law maintain Russia's immunity from legal proceedings in foreign courts. Therefore, it can be concluded that there are no legal bases for the expropriation of Russian sovereign assets.</p>
</abstract>

This study provides an in-depth examination of the legal bases for current asset freezes in the European Union (EU) and the United States (US), and how these differ from confiscations of Russian state assets. It explores the evolving political deliberations that have led to new goals of making reparations to Ukraine, which has suffered extensive damage estimated at more than 600 billion euros as a result of Russia's invasion. The primary focus of this study is on the potential confiscation of frozen state assets of Russia as a means to achieve reparations. Western governments have initiated comprehensive assessments of avenues to perform permanent asset seizures, with the overarching goal of strengthening the tracing, identification, freezing and management of assets as preliminary steps for potential confiscation. The study discusses the legislative pitfalls associated with sovereign asset confiscation, its challenges and limitations. It highlights how the principle of sovereign equality of states can hinder such actions, protecting the assets of Russia's central bank from court proceedings and execution in another state. Despite Russia's actions contravening the fundamental norms of international law, interpretations of customary international law maintain Russia's immunity from legal proceedings in foreign courts. Therefore, it can be concluded that there are no legal bases for the expropriation of Russian sovereign assets.

Legal Basis of Sanctions against Russia and Asset Confiscation

Socrates. Rīga Stradiņš University Faculty of Law Electronic Scientific Journal of Law.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Legal Basis of Sanctions against Russia and Asset Confiscation"}

This study provides an in-depth examination of the legal bases for current asset freezes in the European Union (EU) and the United States (US), and how these...

Targeted Russian activity	Type of sanction	Legal basis	Date initially adopted
Violations of Ukrainian Sovereignty	Individual; geographical	Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP; Council Regulation 269/2014	3/17/2014
Violations of Ukrainian Sovereignty	Economic; geographical	Council Decision 2014/512/CFSP; Council Regulation 833/2014	7/31/2014
Violations of Ukrainian Sovereignty (Crimea)	Economic; geographical	Council Decision 2014/386/CFSP; Council Regulation 692/2014	6/23/2014
Violations of Ukrainian Sovereignty (Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia)	Economic; geographical	Council Decision 2022/266/CFSP; Council Regulation 2022/263	2/23/2022
Chemical weapons	Individual; thematic	Council Decision (CFSP) 2018/1544 ; Council Regulation 2018/1542	10/15/2018
Cyber Attacks	Individual; thematic	Council Decision (CFSP) 2019/797; Council Regulation 2019/796 Council Decision (CFSP)	5/17/2019
Human rights abuses	Individual; thematic	2020/1999 ; Council Regulation 2020/1998	12/7/2020

Legal Basis of Sanctions against Russia and Asset Confiscation

Article Category: Research Article

Publié en ligne: 31 déc. 2023

Pages: 74 - 80

DOI: https://doi.org/10.25143/socr.27.2023.3.74-80

Mots clés
confiscation of assets, Russian assets, reparations, legal considerations, International law, sanctions, sovereign equality

© 2023 Jānis Zelmenis, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Overview of sanctions on Russia by the EU

Legal Basis of Sanctions against Russia and Asset Confiscation

Article Category: Research Article

Publié en ligne: 31 déc. 2023

Pages: 74 - 80

DOI: https://doi.org/10.25143/socr.27.2023.3.74-80

Mots clésconfiscation of assets, Russian assets, reparations, legal considerations, International law, sanctions, sovereign equality

© 2023 Jānis Zelmenis, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Overview of sanctions on Russia by the EU

Mots clés
confiscation of assets, Russian assets, reparations, legal considerations, International law, sanctions, sovereign equality