Russian litigation in London (Pt 1)

Simon Davenport QC & Helen Pugh examine the reasons behind the buoyancy of Russian/CIS litigation in London

Many recent commercial litigation cases with one or more Russian/CIS parties share a number of common features.
The calibre of the Commercial Court judges and the certainty of English law—as well as the courts’ impressive asset recovery weaponry—make London an attractive choice for contracting parties.
The popularity of London and its suburbs among expats and exiles makes London a possible jurisdiction in other cases.

With episodes as high-profile as the Skripal poisoning, Roman Abramovich’s visa problems, and even Maria Sharapova’s doping scandal, the Russian influence in Britain in areas as diverse as espionage and sport is headline news in technicolour. Commercial litigation involving Russian and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) institutions, companies and people has the same high tempo, high stakes characteristics.

According to the report UK legal services 2018 by TheCityUK, in 2017 almost 1,200 claims were issued in the Admiralty and Commercial Court, now part of the Business

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content

If you are already a subscriber sign in

...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

Russian litigation in London (Pt 1)

Simon Davenport QC & Helen Pugh examine the reasons behind the buoyancy of Russian/CIS litigation in London

Many recent commercial litigation cases with one or more Russian/CIS parties share a number of common features.
The calibre of the Commercial Court judges and the certainty of English law—as well as the courts’ impressive asset recovery weaponry—make London an attractive choice for contracting parties.
The popularity of London and its suburbs among expats and exiles makes London a possible jurisdiction in other cases.

According to the report UK legal services 2018 by TheCityUK, in 2017 almost 1,200 claims were issued in the Admiralty and Commercial Court, now part of the Business

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content

If you are already a subscriber sign in

...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

SourceURL:

Links:

E-newsletter Sign-Up

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All

Thackray Williams—Lucy Zhu

Dual-qualified partner joins as head of commercial property department

Morgan Lewis—David A. McManus

Firm announces appointment of next chair

Burges Salmon—Rebecca Wilsker

Director joins corporate team from the US

NEWS

Read All

NLJ this week: Policing the safeguards when appointing trust corporations

What safeguards apply when trust corporations are appointed as deputy by the Court of Protection?

NLJ this week: What the court considers when assessing refusal of ADR

Disputing parties are expected to take part in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), where this is suitable for their case. At what point, however, does refusing to participate cross the threshold of ‘unreasonable’ and attract adverse costs consequences?

NLJ this week: Finding innovative ways to fund the justice gap

When it comes to free legal advice, demand massively outweighs supply. 'Millions of people are excluded from access to justice as they don’t have anywhere to turn for free advice—or don’t know that they can ask for help,' Bhavini Bhatt, development director at the Access to Justice Foundation, writes in this week's NLJ

NLJ this week: Two’s company, but three’s a crowd in financial provision cases

When an ex-couple is deciding who gets what in the divorce or civil partnership dissolution, when is it appropriate for a third party to intervene? David Burrows, NLJ columnist and solicitor advocate, considers this thorny issue in this week’s NLJ

Charities Appeals Supplement: March 2026

NLJ's latest Charities Appeals Supplement has been published in this week’s issue

Error message

Russian litigation in London (Pt 1)

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Thackray Williams—Lucy Zhu

Morgan Lewis—David A. McManus

Burges Salmon—Rebecca Wilsker