Master 2024/2025

Legal Architecture of International Financial Compliance

Type: Elective course (Law of International Trade and Dispute Resolution)

Area of studies: Law

Delivered by: School of International Law

Where: Faculty of Law

When: 1 year, 3 module

Mode of studies: offline

Open to: students of all HSE University campuses

Master’s programme: Law of International Trade and Dispute Resolution

Language: English

ECTS credits: 3

Course Syllabus

Abstract

In the current challenging period, international financial compliance takes the stage in context of ever-expanding restrictive measures and sanctions imposed by the European Union, United States, United Kingdom and other states on Russian nationals and entities, with a particular emphasis on financial institutions. In order to contain risks of forfeiture of substantial funds, it is necessary to implement the best compliance practices elaborated by leading national and multinational banks and to monitor the constant evolution of sanctions laws and regulations in different jurisdictions, as it appears to be the most dynamic legal field over the last few years. However, even strict adherence to the most advanced state-of-the-art compliance practices and procedures does not eliminate risks of exposure of companies, banks and individual clients to restrictive measures due to their Delphic language and highly complex nature. Therefore, in-depth knowledge of sanctions laws and regulations and clear understanding of possible legal methods and strategies is of paramount importance for being able to limit exposure to sanctions and avoid adverse effects of restrictive measures on business. In order to assure sustainability of international financial relations and stable flow of cross-border payments, it is also important to coordinate compliance rules and procedures with the peculiarities of specific national legal systems and un-uniform and, at times, controversial administrative practices and approaches to enforcement of restrictive measures of different states, banks and other financial institutions. The course will introduce students to theoretical and practical aspects of financial compliance by bringing them to the frontlines of the so-called sanctions wars through the study of the complex regulatory landscape of financial compliance and detailed analysis of actual professional experiences of its authors and will navigate them through the raging ocean of legal risks and challenges to real-life business of credit institutions.