“Here, we have to consider two aspects, legal and practical ones. There is a chance of the appellate instance taking sides with the Yukos former shareholders. However, judging by their recent steps, they themselves are skeptical about this prospect, and probably there is a reason for it. Still, we cannot definitely state that the court will decide against the Yukos former shareholders”, believes Denis Frolov.

At the same time, he notes that even if the court takes their side, it will be difficult trying to enforce the award, since Russian authorities may deny the enforcement on the grounds that such awards are contrary to the Constitution and infringes on the Russia’s sovereignty.