AUSTRIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Anna Zeitlinger, Gabriel Lansky, Philip Goeth and Konstantin Oppolzer, Lansky Ganzger Goeth + Partner Rechtsanwälte GmbH
of legal defence in judicial proceedings and the right to legal remedies. Intra-Group services Moreover, intra-group services may be continued if the service provider obtains a derogation. Such dero - gation may be obtained if the service provider and the recipient are owned or controlled by a legal entity incorporated in the European Union or in a “partner country” (ie, US, Japan, UK, South Korea, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland Liech - tenstein and Iceland) and if the services are for the exclusive use of such subsidiaries. The Austrian authority issues the derogation usually for two years. The applicant may apply for several services in one application. Upon the expiry of a dero - gation, the applicant can apply for an extension of the derogation and – to the extent necessary – add new services to be covered by the derogation. 5.2 Goods EU sanctions apply in Austria and, therefore, the respective EU prohibitions apply directly as well. Under the Russia and Belarus sanctions regime, a plethora of restrictions apply regarding the export and import of goods. For instance, it is prohibited to export goods to Russia or Belarus which (inter alia): • are dual-use products in the sense of the Dual-Use Regulation; • might contribute to Russia’s (or Belarus’s) military and technological enhancement, or the develop - ment of the defence and security sector; • are suited for use in oil refining and liquefaction of natural gas; • are suited for use in aviation or the space industry; or • could contribute in particular to the enhancement of Russian/Belarusian industrial capacities. Under the EU’s Iran sanctions regime, the export of certain goods is restricted as well. Goods covered by prohibitions are (inter alia) dual-use goods and goods that could be used in nuclear enrichment-related activities, certain naval equipment, certain software,
equipment used in the energy sector or gold, precious metals and diamonds.
6. Civil Litigation and Arbitration 6.1 Force Majeure Most EU sanctions regulations include a so-called “no-claims” clause. Austrian courts must directly apply such clauses when dealing with litigation that involves a sanction issue. The no-claims clause essentially states that an EU person cannot satisfy a claim under a contract, the performance of which has been affected in whole or in part by prohibitions set forth in the EU sanctions regulation at issue. Though, the standard language of a no-claims clause especially (but not exclusively) mentions the claims for indemnity or any other claim of this type, such as a claim for compensation or a claim under a guarantee, notably a claim for extension or payment of a bond, guarantee or indemnity, particularly a financial guar - antee or financial indemnity, it has been clarified in a recent request for a preliminary ruling by an Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (C-802/24 Reibel) that the term “claim” ought to be interpreted broadly. This is because the no claims clause express - ly refers to “any contract” or “any transaction affected directly or indirectly, in whole or in part” by the appli - cable sanctions regulation. Though, the European Court of Justice has on the date of writing (August 2026) not issued a ruling, opinions of the Advocates General are followed in the majority of cases. It can be argued therefore, that an EU operator can - not perform any claims under a contract if the perfor - mance of such claim is affected directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, by the applicable EU sanctions and if the performance of such claim is essentially made by a person from a sanctioned state or a designated person. The no-claims clause, however, does not preclude the parties to the contract to seek judicial review and to ask a court whether the no-claims clause applies to the claim at issue. The court must consider directly
37 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook