The American Branch co-sponsored a webinar entitled The Ukraine Conflict—What is at Stake?, on March 10, 2022, with the American Society of International Law, Institute for Transnational Arbitration, and Southwestern Institute for International and Comparative Law. The event featured Danae Azaria, Leila Nadya Sadat, Frédéric  G. Sourgens, Harry W. Sullivan, Jr, and Baiju Vasani.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has changed the world in fundamental ways in a short period of time. International legal proceedings against the Russian Federation are pending, including an international criminal investigation before the International Criminal Court and a case before the International Court of Justice. Further, sanctions have targeted key Russian interests, including energy interests. The certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has been put on hold by the German government in response to Russian action. Similarly, international energy companies have indicated their exit from or intent not to further invest in Russian energy projects. At the same time, Russian-Chinese energy projects continue to go forward and may even accelerate.

This panel provided a briefing of these late-breaking issues and context against which to understand these developments. It discussed what to make of the pending legal proceedings and predicted potential future legal proceedings by the Russian Federation or Russian nationals. It also considered what (energy) world we are waking up to as Europe continues its attempt to decouple from Russia, and China appears poised to deepen its energy cooperation with the Russian Federation. A recording of the event is available online.