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NLJ this week: Oligarchs, confiscated assets & the future of Kyiv

24 March 2023
Issue: 8018 / Categories: Legal News , International justice , Sanctions , Rule of law
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Could seized sanctions assets be used to fund the reconstruction of Ukraine? It’s a fascinating question. 

In this week’s NLJ, Maria Nizzero writes that ‘policymakers have expressed increased interest in freezing, seizing, but also repurposing the sanctioned assets, including those of the so-called “oligarchs”, for the benefit of Kyiv’.

Nizzero, a research fellow at RUSI’s Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, points out, however, there are ‘inherent limitations’ in this plan, before setting out some of the complexities, obstacles and potential routes around the obstacles.

She writes: ‘Choosing to prioritise the strengthening of the sanctions regime is not a Sophie’s choice for policymakers: bolstering the response to sanctions evasion now does not imply that permanent confiscation of other Russian sanctioned assets cannot be achieved.’ 

Read more on this subject here.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
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