The Russian assets referred to in this article are worth a fortune. Rebuilding Ukraine will require massive financial resources. Whilst we are seeing more and more states seizing assets belonging to Russian oligarchs, and whilst this may be a creative way to raise money to rebuild Ukraine, is it lawful under public international law? There is certainly some doubt under the current rules of international law where there are at least two potential concerns: the existing rules that regulate expropriation on the one hand, and the existing rules that govern sovereign immunity on the other. But international law is not static. The legal views and practice of states that create customary international law can change over time, also in relation to rules that permit seizure more readily. A supportive resolution or two from the UN General Assembly may also help to create new rules that effectively remove international legal barriers that currently animate existing international law. Do the Ukrainian circumstances justify the creation and development of new rules of customary international law? Could we see this happening?
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