Application of Estoppel in the English Court Judgment of 1 November 2023 on the Claim of the ex-Yukos Shareholders Against the Russian Federation

The article analyses the decision of the Commercial Court of the King’s Bench Division in the case of Hulley Enterprises Ltd & Ors v. The Russian Federation. It sets out the positions of the parties and the court on the main problem — whether the Russian Federation is entitled to challenge in an English court the issue of the jurisdiction of the Arbitral Tribunal in circumstances where the existence of this jurisdiction is established in the decisions of the Dutch courts, and whether these decisions have the effect of estoppel; as well as on some specific issues associated with this problem: whether it is permissible to apply the rule of estoppel to the immunity of a foreign state; whether the conditions for the application of this rule are met, in particular, whether the issues resolved in the Dutch courts are identical to the issue being considered by the English court, whether the decisions of the Dutch courts are final and conclusive. The author’s assessment of the results of that decision and the chances of appeal are given.