What happened
In late 2022, Uniper commenced ad hoc arbitration against Gazprom Export LLC over the halt in Russian gas supplies from mid-2022. In the SCC arbitration, the tribunal, applying Swiss law, upheld the claims against the Russian respondent. On June 7, 2024, the arbitrators awarded Uniper more than €13B in damages caused by the halt in gas supplies and recognized Uniper’s right to terminate the long-term contracts. In March 2024, Gazprom Export obtained an injunction from a Russian arbitrazh court barring the continuation of the foreign proceedings on pain of a €14.3B penalty against Uniper, but the tribunal continued the proceedings. Uniper also sought to levy execution on Gazprom Export’s receivables and to obtain rights of claim against the French company Engie, but lost in the Versailles Court of Appeal.
Why it is notable
One of the largest arbitrations in history. It illustrates how parallel proceedings can produce mutually unenforceable decisions: the SCC tribunal and the Russian court in effect reached opposite outcomes.