EU sanctions against Mubarak family found to be unlawful, ending a 10-year legal battle
07 Apr 2022
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In a decision handed down on 6 April 2022, the General Court of the European Union has annulled sanctions imposed on the late former President of Egypt, President of Egypt, Mohamed Hosni Elsayed Mubarak, and members of his family.
The sanctions imposed in 2018, 2019 and 2020 were annulled on the basis that the Council had failed to adequately verify observance of the rights of the defence and the right to effective judicial protection in respect of the Egyptian proceedings that formed the evidential basis for the sanctions. The detailed judgment provides helpful guidance on the steps which the Council ought to take prior to taking a designation decision.
The former President and his family have been represented by Brian Kennelly QC and Jason Pobjoy, along with Guy Martin and Charles Enderby Smith from Carter Ruck, for the past nine years. The legal team have now succeeded in all proceedings issued in the European Courts.
Brian and Jason have extensive expertise in challenging and advising on EU and international asset-freezing sanctions, and are recognised as leading sanctions lawyers in the EU. They have represented over 30 individuals and entities in over a dozen challenges to asset-freezing regimes before the General Court of the EU and the Court of Justice. As with the present case, many of their recent cases have resulted in the de-listing of the sanctioned individuals. They also have considerable experience in advising on sanctions compliance issues, and have acted in a number of the leading domestic cases concerning compliance with US, EU and other international sanctions.
A copy of the decision is available here.
