On June 29, 2017 the working group of the Russian Arbitration Association on the monitoring of case law related to the recognition gse and enforcement of arbitral awards in Russia filed its fifth amicus curiae brief in the case of Redius-T v. GSE Krass (case № А56-13914/2016). The case was pending before the Russian Supreme Court. The brief was not filed in support of any of the parties’ position and aimed at informing the court about existing international practices.

The question before the courts was whether incapability of claimant (for any reason) to pay arbitration costs renders the arbitration clause invalid or incapable of being performed. The analysis of national legislation and case law of various states showed that insolvency does not impact the validity of arbitration agreements, except in cases where a claimant is a weaker party (consumer, unemployed, etc.).

In its judgment, the Russian Supreme Court took a position that inability to pay arbitration costs has no impact on validity of arbitration agreements. Therefore, the court allowed for the recognition and enforcement of the arbitral award in Russia.
Roman Zykov chaired the working group which wrote the amicus curiae brief to the Russian Supreme Couert in the case of Redius-T v. GSE Krass.