DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Johannes Grove Nielsen and Camilla Søgaard Hudson, Bech-Bruun
8.3 Trade Sanctions Trade sanctions are adopted by the UN and the EU. A trade sanction can be adopted in two pos - sible ways: • by the EU implementing independent sanc - tions that are directly applicable to any indi - vidual or business within the EU; or • by the EU implementing a sanction agreed on within the UN Security Council. Such sanctions are put into effect through a Council Regulation. The restrictions are therefore not incorporated into Danish law but are directly applicable within the EU. In 2014, the EU adopted trade restrictions against Syria; however, a Danish bunker group was negligently participating in trading jet fuel with two Russian companies, which were import - ing the jet fuel to Syria. It was an aggravating cir - cumstance that the jet fuel was used in Russian fighters, which were in turn used by President Assad to bomb Syria. The companies were fined DKK30 million and DKK4 million, respectively, and one of the managers was sentenced to a four-month suspended prison sentence. The sanctions were based on Regulation No 36/2012 Article 7a(1)(a), where it is prohibited to “(...) transfer or export, directly or indirectly, jet fuel and fuel additives (…) to any person, entity or body in Syria, or for use in Syria”. The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website lists all the current trade sanctions Denmark is obliged to enforce. The list is updated whenever a new sanction enters into force.
While US trade sanctions, for instance, are not incorporated into Danish domestic law, they still have a large indirect impact on Danish compa - nies. The ongoing situation in Ukraine has led the EU to adopt a substantial number of restric - tive measures in view of Russia’s destabilis - ing actions in Ukraine. Sanctions have also been adopted against Belarus and Iran for their involvement in the conflict. As described in the foregoing, these sanctions directly apply to indi - viduals and businesses in Denmark. Several of the adopted EU sanctions contain exemptions to the trade prohibitions. Depend - ing on the exemption, it may be a requirement to obtain authorisation from the relevant national authority to refer a trade under an exemption. 8.4 International Conflict(s) Outside the increase in trade sanctions described in 8.3 Trade Sanctions , there have been no legal implications for maritime law or trade in Den - mark of international conflicts, such as the ongo - ing war in Ukraine or the Red Sea Crisis. The implications for maritime trade of the Ukrain - ian war appear to have somewhat stabilised in 2024, albeit taking into consideration that the war is still ongoing and is creating a volatile envi - ronment for maritime logistics providers oper - ating near the Ukrainian territory. The circum - stances in Ukraine are also creating volatility in the market for war risk insurance products. The Red Sea Crisis continues to affect maritime trade, as many lines considers the trade route unviable and are avoiding the Suez Canal alto - gether.
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