Does international law allow Europe to seize Russian assets?
While Russia has said seizing its assets would amount to 'theft', the question of whether such a move is legal under international law is a thorny one.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/03/21/does-international-law-allow-europe-to-seize-russian-assets
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While Russia has said seizing its assets would amount to 'theft', the question of whether such a move is legal under international law is a thorny one.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/03/21/does-international-law-allow-europe-to-seize-russian-assets
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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00:00Does seizing frozen Russian assets break international law?
00:08European leaders and MEPs have been ramping up calls to seize 274 billion euros in frozen
00:14Russian assets to support Ukraine's military and help rebuild the country.
00:18They were frozen by the EU, US and allies after Russia launched its full-scale invasion
00:23of Ukraine.
00:24Meanwhile, other politicians have been wary of such a move due to the potential legal
00:28repercussions.
00:30The majority of these assets are held in the securities depository Euroclear, which is
00:34based in Belgium.
00:36The money was originally in short-term government bonds held as reserves for the Russian Central
00:41Bank, but those bonds have now matured and are piling up.
00:45Russia has called the plans illegal, so what does international law say about this?
00:50If there is a court order that orders governments to seize the assets of Russia, that court
00:58order would be illegal under international law and under domestic law, which imports
01:04international law.
01:05However, if there is an executive decision by the government to seize the assets, that
01:11could bypass potentially this.
01:14Seizing Russian assets would only be legal if the decision was enacted as a countermeasure.
01:18It's not a retribution, it's to induce compliance.
01:22So Russia should have the opportunity to say, I'm sorry, I'm going to rectify whatever
01:30I'm going to pay damages, and then you leave my assets, you don't touch them.
01:36Second, countermeasure must be temporary, they cannot be indefinite.
01:41In May 2024, EU member states did, however, begin using interest from frozen assets to
01:47finance Ukraine's military effort.
01:50While Russia labelled this theft, it was permitted under international law as it is considered
01:55a temporary measure.