Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, many countries responded by imposing economic sanctions on Russia. More particularly, over $500 billion of Russian assets were frozen around the world, the majority being reserves belonging to Russia's Central Bank and highly valuable assets owned by Russian oligarchs. In a joint assessment released by Ukraine, the European Commission, the World Bank, and partners, it is estimated that the current cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine amounts to around $349 billion as of September 2022, with physical damage alone reaching over $97 billion. In light of this vast destruction, Ukraine called for the confiscation and repurposing of Russian frozen assets for Ukraine’s benefit to fund its reconstruction.
PILPG Policy Planning, in collaboration with our Ukrainian friends and colleagues and legal and subject-matter experts, have developed a range of materials to assist Ukraine in understanding the sanctions landscape in Russia’s war in Ukraine and how Russian frozen and immobilized assets may be repurposed for purposes of reconstruction in Ukraine. Such efforts include outlining the existing domestic and international legal framework, identifying challenges posed by this framework, and acknowledging efforts to overcome such challenges. The materials produced include a series of legal analyses, including on specific domestic jurisdictions as well as on the international legal framework that governs the seizure and repurposing of foreign-owned assets.
Policy Planning WHite Paper Legal Memoranda
PILPG brought together the best legal and policy minds to assist Ukraine in considering the international and domestic legal frameworks that govern the repurposing of frozen Russian assets. The PILPG Sanctions and Frozen Assets Policy Planning Working Group, in collaboration with our friends and colleagues in Ukraine, engaged international law practitioners, former ambassadors, sanctions experts, national security experts, as well as the leading minds focused on Ukraine’s reconstruction to develop a range of materials on the repurposing of frozen Russian assets, culminating in a summary policy planning white paper. This expert working group is one in a series of Ukraine policy planning working groups within the PILPG Policy Planning Initiative. These working groups focus on providing practical guidance on specific conflict and post-conflict policy questions Ukraine is likely to face in the future.
PILPG is proud to announce the involvement of distinguished experts in the Policy Planning Sanctions and Frozen Assets Working Group for Ukraine. These include Scott Anderson from Lawfare and the Brookings Institution; Daniel Fata from Fata Advisory and the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Igor Lukšić, PILPG Senior Peace Fellow and Former Prime Minister of Montenegro (2010-2012); Ambassador Zorica Marić-Djordjević, PILPG Senior Legal Adviser, and Former Head of the Permanent Mission of Montenegro and Special Representative of Montenegro to the UN Human Rights Council (2013-2015); Robert Petit, PILPG Senior Peace Fellow, and Former International Co-Prosecutor at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia; and Mark Vlasic, PILPG Senior Peace Fellow, Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University, and Executive Producer of “Blood & Treasure” for CBS and Prime.
PILPG Policy Planning, in collaboration with our law firm partners, have produced legal memoranda that offer in-depth legal analysis on the existing international law and several domestic legal frameworks, as well as relevant past precedents on repurposing foreign assets.
This Paper explores how foreign courts can enforce financial awards mandated by Ukrainian courts against Russian corporations, specifically in cases related to war crimes or other atrocities in Ukraine. It is meant to be both a legal guide and a complement to our previous work on Russian Frozen Assets.
This memorandum summarizes and analyzes the legal framework underlying the freezing, seizing, and potential repurposing of Russian frozen assets in international law. This includes an analysis of Russia’s obligation to make reparation; how Russia’s sovereign immunity limits the potential repurposing of frozen Russian assets; and potential vehicles to update international law to allow for the repurposing of frozen Russian assets.
This memorandum summarizes and analyzes the March 2023 final decision of the International Court of Justice in the Certain Iranian Assets (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America) to identify key lessons learned for Ukraine.
This case study summarizes and analyzes the International Court of Justice case, Certain Iranian Assets (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America. The analysis includes a contextualization of the International Court of Justice’s decision, as well as relevant considerations for the repurposing of frozen Russian assets.
This memorandum summarizes and analyzes the legal framework that allows for the freezing, seizing, and potential repurposing of Russian frozen assets under the laws of Germany.
This memorandum summarizes and analyzes the legal framework that allows for the freezing, seizing, and potential repurposing of Russian frozen assets under the laws of the European Union.
PILPG is grateful to have collaborated with our excellent law firm partners, including Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; Milbank LLP, Baker McKenzie LLP, and others, on this work product.