The Supreme Court of the Netherlands rejected Russia's appeal to annul the partial decision of the Hague Arbitration regarding compensation for the damages caused by the illegal seizure of Naftogaz Group's assets in the temporarily occupied Crimea.
This was reported by Naftogaz's press service.
"The Supreme Court's decision strengthens Naftogaz Group's position in enforcement proceedings to collect debts from Russia for the unlawful seizure of assets in Crimea. We are grateful to our legal advisors – Covington & Burling and NautaDutilh – for their excellent work. Naftogaz is on the path to restoring justice," commented Roman Chumak, acting CEO of Naftogaz of Ukraine.
It is noted that Dutch courts have now confirmed for the second and final time the legality and validity of the partial decision of the arbitration tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
As reported, in October 2016, Naftogaz and six other companies of the Naftogaz Group initiated arbitration proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration against the Russian Federation based on the agreement between the Ukrainian government and the Russian government on the encouragement and mutual protection of investments.
Naftogaz asked the Arbitration Tribunal to order Russia to pay compensation for violating the investment protection agreement, specifically for the illegal expropriation of Naftogaz's strategically important energy investments, which became one of Russia's primary targets in Crimea in 2014.
In February 2019, the Arbitration Court issued a partial ruling in favor of Naftogaz, confirming its jurisdiction over the case and establishing that Russia violated its obligations under the Investment Protection Agreement by illegally expropriating Naftogaz's investments in Crimea.
The second stage of the arbitration proceedings involved determining the amount of compensation for damages incurred by the Naftogaz Group. In July 2022, the Hague Appeal Court confirmed the Arbitration Court's jurisdiction in this case.
On April 12, 2023, the Arbitration Tribunal ordered Russia to pay $5 billion in compensation for damages caused by the seizure of assets of the Naftogaz Group companies in Crimea in 2014. The arbitration decision was issued following hearings to determine the compensation amount, which concluded in March 2022 amidst Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
