|Help

Chapter 2 - Background: The Organization of Foreign Trade - Enforcing Foreign Arbitral Awards Against Russian Entities

Author(s): 
Kaj I. Hobér
Page Count: 
4 pages
Published: 
February, 1999
Jurisdictions: 
Russia
Author Detail: 

Kaj Hobér is a Partner at Mannheimer Swartling in Stockholm and Professor of East European Law at Uppsala University.

PDF67.54 KB

$40.00
Description: 
 
Preview Page
 
As  mentioned  above,  there  were  traditionally  very  few  arbitrated  disputes  in  Soviet foreign trade.2 When arbitrations did take place and resulted in arbitral awards, such awards were always adhered to by the Soviet party in case it was on the losing end. In fact, until 1990 there were no known  cases  where  a  losing  Soviet  party  did  not  fulfill  the  payment  obligations  in  an  award.  In recent  years,  however,  the  situation  has  changed  dramatically.  In  most  cases  the  arbitral  awards are  the  result  of  arbitrations  arising  out  of  contracts  between  Western  parties  and  Soviet  foreign trade organizations as they existed under the Soviet system of foreign trade. To understand and appreciate the problems facing Western parties today, it is therefore necessary to have a basic understanding of the Soviet system of foreign trade in its previous form. 
 
The organization of Soviet foreign trade had seen little change until January 1, 1987. Radical reforms  took  effect  on  that  date,  however.  On  that  date  the  first  step  in  the  decentralization  and liberalization of the foreign trade system was taken by granting foreign trade rights to approximately  70  state  enterprises  and  21  economic  ministries,  departments,  and  state committees. Prior to this reorganization virtually all Soviet foreign trade was conducted through approximately  50  so-called  foreign  trade  organizations  subordinated  to  the  USSR  Ministry of Foreign Trade. 
Table of Contents: 
Chapter 2   Background: The Organization of Foreign Trade (A) General   (B) The Ministry of Foreign Trade (C) Foreign Trade Organizations (D) The Situation Today