EVENTS
March 19 2025 @ 17:30
Taking for granted a nation state’s territorial integrity is no longer a possibility in Europe, as testified by the Russia-Ukraine war. Significant implications for security and sanctions are now also posed by the new administration in the USA, in particular for the EU. Questions also remain over the future of the existing sanctions regime within and across nations.
As claims for compensation mount, states are having to grapple with questions for how long assets will be frozen and will they ever be subject to confiscation?
The new experience of many countries indicates a development in international sanctions law, taking on new and wide-reaching features. The first application in Ukraine of the doctrine of alter ego regarding compensation for war damages has also created something of a new precedent. With these developments in mind, there is no better time to explore a comparative and international law look at sanctions law and to consider how states are learning from one another’s experience and how this important body of law may develop (or fragment) when dealing with the biggest challenge it faces: whether frozen assets can be forfeited and how any scheme of administration would be arranged; maintaining a balance of rights and interests when applying sanctions and the alter ego doctrine.
Come and join us in the Nash Lecture Theatre at King’s College London on Wednesday 19 March 2025 17:00 for 17:30 or virtually by MS Teams 17:15 for 17:30, for a panel discussion chaired by Prof Paul James Cardwell (Professor of Law and Vice Dean at KCL) with Lord Dan Brennan KC (Matrix Chambers & the House of Lords), Olena Sukmanova (Head of Litigation, Sayenko Kharenko & previously Deputy & First Deputy Minister of Justice, Ukraine) & Maria Kostytska (Lawyer & Head of Arbitration at Winston & Strawn, Paris).
Followed by a drinks reception in the Somerset Room from 19:00.
This event is free if you are a student, register with a KCL email address, or you are a solicitor or junior barrister under 5 years call. For all others there is a £10 administration charge.
Register for virtual attendance here
Paul James Cardwell is Professor of Law and Vice Dean (Education) at the Dickson Poon School of Law, King’s College London. He has published widely on his research area of the External Relations of the EU, and has provided evidence to the Parliaments of the UK and Canada. He is the editor of the leading interdisciplinary journal, JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, and recently launched a postgraduate module on The Law and Practice of Economic Sanctions in collaboration with Baker and McKenzie.
King’s Counsel since 1985 and is a senior associate member of Matrix. His areas of expertise include commercial law, public and private international law and international arbitration.
Lord Brennan KC, as an appointed life peer, is active in politics as well as dedicating time to his incredibly varied legal practice. His most notable case during 2009 was the landmark civil Omagh bombing case. The outcome, in favour of his clients – relatives of those killed in the Omagh bombing – has become the first civil case of its kind in Europe in which the victims of terrorism were able to sue those responsible.
In 2010, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Chambers & Partners Bar Awards.
Olena Sukmanova heads Sayenko Kharenko’s litigation practice. Boasting over 20 years of professional experience, she specializes in the comprehensive resolution of complex disputes and conflicts. Olena gained valuable practical experience in debt collection, land dispute resolution and anti-raiding, business and foreign investment protection.
Prior to joining Sayenko Kharenko, Olena held senior positions in the legal departments of major banks and industrial holdings, where she gained unique experience in implementing projects in the banking, real estate and investments sectors, and worked for two years in public service as Deputy and First Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine.
As a First Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine, Mrs Sukmanova gained invaluable experience in approximation process to the EU acquis; capacity building in EU integration process of Ministry’s key units; negotiation on EU macro-financial assistance; development of the non-paper on Justice, freedom and security sphere (as a new proposal after implementing Visa liberalization plan for Ukraine).
In addition, Olena Sukmanova is a Member of Safe Ukraine 2030 Supervisory Board, who is responsible for development of legal framework for security and justice, including promotion of the implementation of EU standards and rules of international law into domestic legislation on security and justice.
Olena actively participates in various professional and business events. Acting as a moderator and speaker, she proved to be an influential opinion leader among entrepreneurs. She has been named among notable practitioners in Litigation by Ukrainian Law Firms 2020 and recommended among leading lawyers in Litigation by Best Lawyers in Ukraine 2022, 2024.
Maria Kostytska is Head of International Arbitration at the Paris office of Winston & Strawn LLP. Admitted to the bars of England and Wales (Barrister), Paris (Avocate à la Cour), New York and the District of Columbia, she practices law in five languages before international arbitral tribunals and national courts. Her cross-jurisdictional practice encompasses annulment, recognition and enforcement of international arbitral awards and foreign judgments, including against sovereigns and their assets, both on the defensive and on the offensive. Her decade-long representation of Ukraine has included acting as counsel in proceedings before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) regarding the imposition of economic sanctions on a former head of state. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion in 2022, she has lead a pro bono program to study legal mechanisms for recovery of losses caused by the war, in collaboration with Ukrainian and international professional associations.
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