Maxim Ali has provided his comments to Pravo.ru on the Deripaska case

On 15 February Pravo.ru published an article on the ruling made in respect of a claim by Oleg Deripaska against Anastasia Bashukevich and Alexandr Kirillov.  Previously Deripaska had applied to court following the publication of phtographs and videos from a holiday on his yacht. The court grant interim measures and asked that the sites delete the content, with any failure to do so resulting in the sites being blocked.

Senior Associate at Maxima Legal, Specialist in IP/IT matters, Maxim Ali commented on the key issues in the order issued by the court.

In particular, Maxim noted that access will be limited to specific material whilst the threat to block the websites completely may be a breach of the principal of proportionately of interims measures.

At the same time, according to Maxim, the refusal to block the material promptly may make the protection of the oligarch’s rights impossible, if the disputed information has been widely shared on the internet.  Furthermore, the blocking of content for the period of the dispute may breach rights to free speech and political discussion. In this respect there are no details as to how the disputed content could cause irreparable damage to Deripaska.  Considering this point, and that Oleg Deripaska can be considered to be a public figure, Maxim expressed doubt as to the lawfulness of the court decision.

Evaluating the prospects for the case, Maxim suggested that “if the interim claim will be complied with, the claimant will seek to draw out proceedings – potentially with the appointment of an expert and the adjournment of the case”.

To read the article, please click here.