Gazprom Export v. Engie

In an SCC arbitration over the revision of prices under long-term gas supply contracts, a tribunal composed of Wendy Miles (chair), John Fellas, and Ivan Marisin largely upheld the claims of France’s Engie and ordered Gazprom Export to bear about €3.4M in costs. When Gazprom Export challenged the partial award before the Svea Court of Appeal, Engie’s lawyers at Mannheimer Swartling sought to have Gazprom Export’s representative, Michael Berg, held jointly and severally liable for costs because of his allegations that evidence had been falsified, which in the view of Engie’s representatives breached legal ethics. Berg filed a complaint with the Swedish Bar Association, citing impermissible financial pressure on a lawyer, but the Disciplinary Committee dismissed it. The Committee found that the Swedish Code of Judicial Procedure allows costs to be imposed on a representative and that Mannheimer Swartling’s request was not unfounded. In February 2026, Gazprom Export withdrew its application to set aside the partial award.

A rare instance of a sanctions-related dispute turning into a question of the liability of the representatives themselves. A professional body found that a request to recover costs personally from the lawyer of a sanctioned party was permissible, although the issue itself will be decided in separate court proceedings.