Emerging Challenges from the Russia–Ukraine War

The Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance is delighted to invite you to this conference.

Abstract

The conference explores the multifaceted impact of sanctions arising from the Russia–Ukraine war, focusing on the most recent measures adopted by the EU and Russia’s responses across different fields. By examining criminal law, dispute resolution, and space law, the event highlights the varied dimensions of sanctions and the new challenges these measures pose amid the ongoing conflict. The criminal law panel addresses the legal and practical difficulties arising from the EU’s rules criminalising the violation and circumvention of sanctions, and their interaction with instruments such as the Anti-Money Laundering Regulation. The dispute resolution panel considers recent developments in international arbitration, with particular attention to Russia’s increasing national court intervention in commercial arbitration and the EU 18th sanctions package targeting ISDS sanctions-related awards, which has reignited debates over the compatibility of extra-EU BITs with EU law. The final panel examines the outer-space dimension of the conflict, focusing on the application of international humanitarian law and the use of force in space, as well as the implications of the war and sanctions for space security and international cooperation.

Programme

8:30 – 9:15 Registration & welcome coffee

9:15 – 9:30 Opening remarks

Katalin Ligeti (Dean, Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance, University of Luxembourg)

Stanislaw Tosza (Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance, University of Luxembourg)

Javier García Olmedo (Research Scientist, Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance, University of Luxembourg)

9:30 – 11:00 Sanctions and Compliance: Criminal Law Challenges

Chair: Katalin Ligeti (Dean, Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance, University of Luxembourg)

Criminalising sanctions breaches: a political perspective

Clara Portela (Professor, University of Valencia)

Sanctions circumvention: legal and policy recommendations

Iryna Bogdanova (Postdoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance, University of Luxembourg)

EU Criminal Sanctions Directive and the new AML Regulation: enforcement gains vs. legitimacy concerns

Stanislaw Tosza (Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance, University of Luxembourg)

Compliance and risk management under the EU Criminal Sanctions Directive

Margot Sève (Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Paris)

Coffee Break 11:00 – 11:30

11:30 – 13:00 Sanctions and Dispute Resolution

Chair: Javier García Olmedo (Research Scientist, Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance, University of Luxembourg)

Sanctions and commercial arbitration: recent developments

Paschalis Paschalidis (Counsel, Arendt, Luxembourg)

EU 18th sanctions package: tools to block ISDS sanctions-based claims

Toni Marzal (Professor, Glasgow University)

(In)compatibility of extra-EU BITs with EU law

Clémentine Baldon (Founding Partner, Baldon Avocats, Paris)

Michael de Boeck (Founding Partner, BOEX Law, Brussels)

13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break

14:00 – 15:30 Outer Space Governance in the Context of Sanctions and War

Chair: Mahulena Hofmann (SES Chair in Satellite Communication and Media Law, Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance, University of Luxembourg)

Sanctions, war, and the future of international space cooperation

João Nuno Frazão (Associate, Victoria Associates, Lisbon)

The war in Ukraine from a space security perspective

Almudena Azcárate Ortega (Lead Space Security Researcher, UNIDIR, Geneva)

Applying the law of armed conflicts in outer space

Setsuko Aoki (Professor, Keio University Law School, Japan)

The use of force in outer space

Professor Marko Höyhtyä (Research Professor, Satellite Communications, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd)

15:30 – 15:45 Closing remarks

15:45 – 17:30 Afternoon reception

Location

University of Luxembourg

Campus Kirchberg - Weicker Building

room A401 (fourth floor)

4, rue Alphonse Weicker, L-2721 Luxembourg

Language

English