SUPPLY CHAIN REACTION - Amid fears that Moscow could cut off gas supplies, Germany’s energy policy has shifted suddenly into focus. Like other nations, Germany is rapidly working to reduce dependence on Russian energy and secure the supply chain in response to the Ukraine war. Russian gas accounted for 55% of Germany’s energy imports in 2021. But since the invasion, Berlin has managed to shrink its Russian gas sources to 35%, according to Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck. But at the same time, German leaders anticipate a Moscow response that could lead to an energy crisis, especially were the Kremlin to cut all supplies. A draft law aiming to firm up the government’s ability to take action in such crisis situations and to protect the supply chain by enabling energy suppliers to unilaterally raise prices forms a key part of the government’s strategy. But these measures, top lawyers told Law.com International’s James Carstensen, could give rise to a plethora of legal challenges along the supply chain. Here’s how Germany’s top law firms are preparing for the nation’s energy dogfight with Russia.
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“I wonder how long we’re going to have these institutions at the rate we’re undermining them.”
— Justice Clarence Thomas, during a speech Friday night in which he described the leak of the draft abortion opinion as “tremendously bad” for the Supreme Court.
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