The Paris Court of Appeal, having reviewed the appeal of the RF, decided in favor of Oschadbank, thereby rejecting an attempt of the RF to suspend enforcement of international arbitration dated 26 November 2018. The resolution in French is available at link.

Considering the appeal, the Paris Court of Appeal found the arguments presented by the Russian Federation unreasonable and ill-founded. The Court emphasized that the requirements for the suspension of the enforcement of the award should be assessed on the basis of the specific facts of the case. Therefore, the reference to abstract or hypothetical grounds put forward by Russia was inadmissible

The Court of Appeal stated that the risk of harm to the rights of the Russian Federation as a result of an attempt to enforce the award in respect of its assets enjoying immunity from enforcement, as stated by the Russian Federation in its application, was not a sufficient ground for suspending enforcement. The issue of forced execution, including at the expense of assets that could enjoy immunity, is a matter for consideration by local courts in each individual jurisdiction. In addition, the Court noted that the risk of foreclosure on sovereign property could not justify the suspension of the arbitral award. The court noted that the enforcement of the award would not jeopardize the country's financial situation and that Oschadbank, which is a reliable commercial bank, did not pose risk to possible refund in case of cancellation of the award. The Court therefore rejected the Russian Federation's application and ordered it to bear part of the costs for the proceeding.