Matthew Howse

The Eversheds Sutherland sanctions tool aims to assist clients in keeping pace with the ever-evolving world of geopolitics and subsequent changes in the international sanctions regime, coupled with the ever increasing legal and regulatory expectations imposed by regulators and sanctions authorities around the world.

The tool includes key features such as its Sanctions Development Tracker, which brings together updates from the EU, UK, and US sanctions regimes, provides summaries of developments, and enables organisations to assign actions to internal stakeholders in one centralised location.

Also featured is a sanctions resource repository, which functions a library of key resources relating to the respective sanctions regimes, including guidance documents, commission opinions, court judgements, general licences, and more.

Meanwhile, the firm’s Global Guide to Freezing Orders provides a practical overview of civil freezing orders and their local law equivalents in 90 jurisdictions worldwide.

The guide is fully interactive and covers whether a freezing order (or equivalent) can be obtained, the test for doing so, and the types of assets which can be frozen for each jurisdiction covered.

It also explains the implications for third parties (such as banks) who are often notified of such orders to give effect to them, and the consequences for both respondents and third parties of breaching such orders.

Matthew Howse, dispute resolution and litigation partner at Eversheds Sutherland Northern Ireland, contributed to the global freezing orders guide.

“The rapid pace with which we have seen the geopolitical landscape change over the last few years has seen international sanctions regimes imposed by regulators and authorities around the world posing a significant challenge to in-house legal and compliance teams across many jurisdictions and sectors,” Mr Howse said.

“This was especially emphasised by the response to the Russia/Ukraine war, where changes to sanctions regimes were made on a near daily basis in the US, the EU, and the UK.

“Our global freezing guide will also help clients with presences in multiple jurisdictions navigate the international landscape, giving them a one-stop shop to understanding if and how a freezing order can be obtained in a given jurisdiction, and if so, whether or not that freezing order is enforceable elsewhere.

“Both the sanctions tool and the global freezing orders guide will be important tools in a client’s armoury as they seek to navigate the sometimes tricky worlds of international law and international business.

“At Eversheds Sutherland, it is important to us that we equip our clients with the tools to understand both the opportunities and risks for impacted parties given the rise in sanctions and cross-border disputes.”