Russia-Ukraine Emergency Podcast 2: Subversive Drafting or Goofs

The Russian international sovereign bonds, with their weird clauses, are a gift that keep on giving. The closer we look, the more perplexed we are about what some of these crucial clauses – such as the Alternative Payments provision, the pari passu clause, the (lack of) submission to jurisdiction – mean to say. Are they clever allocations of risk where the Russians put the risk of a sanctions regime on investors, or are they drafting goofs? Which court or tribunal gets to decide? Surely not some local court in Moscow? Beyond these weird contract clauses, the invasion raises a host of questions that don't have clear answers. For instance, what happens to the Ukrainian debt (including debt incurred to resist the invasion) if Russia takes control of a substantial part of the country? Does it become Russian debt?

Producer: Leanna Doty