German Federal Court rules on service of process in Usmanov vs. EU Council case
Germany’s Federal Court of Justice has declared the blockage of legal documents in Alisher Usmanov’s defamation lawsuit against the Council of the EU to be unlawful.
The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Germany has ruled that the President of the Regional Court of Hamburg acted illegally by refusing to serve court documents in a case brought by Alisher Usmanov against the Council of the European Union. The court explicitly stated that the refusal was unlawful and infringed upon the plaintiff's rights, effectively overriding administrative obstacles that had previously stalled the proceedings.
At the core of the dispute is a defamation claim regarding assertions published by the Council of the EU, which served as the basis for individual sanctions imposed on Usmanov in 2022. While a lower court judge had ordered the service of process to the Council in Belgium, the Hamburg court’s president blocked the action after consulting with the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, citing foreign policy interests. The BGH has now ruled that such executive branch recommendations are not binding on judicial administration.
Attorney Joachim Steinhöfel, representing Usmanov, stated that the ruling protects the independence of the judiciary from political interference. Although Usmanov was removed from the EU sanctions list in September 2026, the defamation lawsuit continues. The decision paves the way for the legal proceedings against the EU Council to move forward in the German court system.