James Smith’s case note on the recent Supreme Court sanctions law case published in the JIBFL

James Smith has been published in the October 2025 edition of Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law, with a case note on the recent Supreme Court case, ‘Shvidler v Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs‘.

James’ article analyses a landmark judgment of the Supreme Court relating to the United Kingdom’s sanctions regime. The case involved Eugene Shvidler, a Russian businessman who was designated under the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Mr Shvidler challenged his designation as disproportionately interfering with his private life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and as affecting his right to property under Article 1 of the First Protocol of the Convention. The Supreme Court upheld the lawfulness and proportionality of Mr Shvidler’s designation.

Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law is a highly regarded and authoritative monthly journal that provides the latest information on developments in banking and financial law around the world.

Read the full article published in the JIBFL here.

Find out more

James Smith has a busy commercial and civil practice which covers commercial litigation, international arbitration, insolvency and company, private client, sanctions, and financial services. Much of James’ work is as part of teams of counsel in complex, high-value disputes. In addition, he often appears as sole counsel in trials, interim application hearings, and preliminary hearings.

To find out more about James, contact Matt Sale on +44 (0)20 7427 4910 or Ellie Barra on +44 (0)20 7353 6381 for a confidential discussion.

External Publications, News 17 Oct, 2025