EU General Court Annuls Sanctions Listings Under Syria, Russia Regimes

The EU General Court on March 8 annulled the listing of Nizar Assaad under the Syria sanctions regime, finding the European Council erred in establishing that he is still a businessperson in Syria, has any ties to the ruling Assad or Makhlouf families or is associated with the Syrian regime. The court also said the council violated the principle of legal certainty by retroactively imposing the sanctions in 2011 after confirming that Assaad was not the listed party for the previous 10 years.

The court also annulled the listing of Violetta Prigozhina, mother of sanctioned Russian oligarch Yevgeniy Prigozhin. The court found the council erred in finding Prigozhina is associated with her son, saying the evidence she had owned a company related to her son before her listing and family ties is not enough to establish association independent of an individual's behavior unless the legislation explicitly permits it.