EU Sanctions

EU Sanctions

>EU Jurisdiction    >National Exemptions / Notifications    >Contesting EU and National decisions


Our firm is recognised as a leading advisor on all aspects of EU export control and sanctions work.

At the EU level we have a significant experience of contesting sanctions through individual administrative procedures and also by direct actions before the European Courts of Justice.

We work closely with political advisors and lobbyists in order to be able to seek to influence the current and future directions of EU policy.

We also know that all enforcement of sanctions is an issue for national law.  With our talented group of lawyers drawn from across the EU we have substantial experience of working on sanctions issues (licence procedures; administrative reviews and national Court proceedings) in many of the key EU jurisdictions including: UK; France; BENELUX; Germany; Italy and Denmark.

In terms of our experience with specific sanctions regimes we have worked on all key EU sanctions measures in recent years -  our lawyers have experience going back as far as the EU embargo on Yugoslavia (1998). Commercially the most relevant and complex have been:  Iran; Syria; Iraq; Ivory Coast; Zimbabwe and DRC; Myanmar and in most recently Ukraine/Russia.

Our sanctions practice focuses on three core areas:

  • Guidance and Counselling:  to companies and individuals active in locations or regions subject to EU sanctions and restrictions. This work involves providing support to in house compliance teams.
  • National Proceedings and Licences:  representing individuals and companies before national administrations in relation to compliance requirements including notification and exemption procedures and also voluntary disclosure procedures. We also represent companies and individuals who face information gathering procedures or formal charges in relation to the national enforcement of EU sanctions or trade restrictions.
  • Review by EU Council or European Courts of Justice:  we advise and represent companies who wish to contest decisions of the EU to list persons or entities. Such procedures include engaging with the EU Council to pursue administrative reviews of listing decisions and/or bringing proceedings before the European Courts of Justice.