russian oligarchs are taking Belgium to court over frozen assets

This was reported by The Brussels Times, according to Ukrinform.

“In the context of the freezing of russian assets, some claimants are threatening to initiate arbitration proceedings against Belgium,” confirmed Francis Adins, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Finance.

“They are doing so on the basis of the BLEU (Belgian-Luxembourg Economic Union) agreement with the government of the Soviet Union, signed in 1989, and with Kazakhstan, signed in 1998,” he said.

russian oligarchs and investors wish to conduct their cases through arbitration proceedings outside the ordinary courts, without observers.

Each party selects its own arbitrator, and these arbitrators then appoint the chair of the tribunal, the article states.

The lack of transparency in legal proceedings concerning investment treaties has long been the subject of heated debate.

Although the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) has not concluded any bilateral investment treaties since 2010, investors can still file claims under existing agreements.

Source: Ukrinform