Last week the Russian Federation suffered a new loss in the legal struggle over the remains of OAO Yukos Oil Company. On Sept. 11, a district court in Stockholm rejected Russia’s request for a declaration that arbitrators lack jurisdiction over a tiny claim by Spanish minority Yukos shareholders. Russia can appeal twice in Sweden, and then can challenge the arbitration award on its merits, but the Yukos camp declared a major victory.
Objectively, the Swedish ruling is at best an incremental boon to Yukos shareholders, who are still celebrating a historic $50 billion arbitration award that majority shareholders won against Russia in July. But it provides a good excuse to war-game the next battle in the world’s highest-stakes dispute: Russia’s looming Dutch court challenge to reverse its $50 billion defeat.
