比利時法院裁定該國國庫部門無權決定俄羅斯銀行凍結資產事宜

夏洛特・范・坎彭豪特報導By Charlotte Van Campenhout

布魯塞爾，9月16日（路透）——比利時最高行政法院裁定，該國國庫部門並無適當法律權限，得以拒絕釋出俄羅斯BCS銀行存放於布魯塞爾清算機構歐洲清算銀行的凍結資產。BRUSSELS, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Belgium's top administrative court ruled that the country's treasury department lacked the proper legal authority to refuse the release of frozen assets of Russian bank BCS held at Brussels-based clearing house Euroclear.

不過，國務委員會並未下令釋出這些資產；這項裁定是否為這家俄羅斯銀行取回證券和資金提供途徑，目前仍不清楚。The Council of State did not order the release of the assets, however, and it was unclear whether the ruling offered the Russian bank a route towards getting the securities and funds back.

雖然這項裁定僅適用於BCS銀行，但除非比利時修訂法律架構，否則國庫部門依同一機制所作的其他決定，也可能面臨挑戰。While the ruling only applies to BCS Bank, other treasury department decisions taken under the same mechanism could also be vulnerable to challenges unless Belgium revises the legal framework.

這項裁定於上週五作出，並由比利時報紙《De Tijd》週三率先報導。The ruling was made last Friday and first reported on Wednesday by Belgian newspaper De Tijd.

比利時財政部發言人表示，該部正在研究這項裁定及其可能後果。歐洲清算銀行和BCS銀行未立即回應採訪請求。A spokesperson for the Belgian Finance Ministry said it was studying the ruling and its possible consequences. Euroclear and BCS Bank did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

BCS銀行透過俄羅斯國家結算存管機構，在歐洲清算銀行持有證券與資金；俄羅斯全面入侵烏克蘭後，該存管機構於2022年6月遭歐盟制裁。這導致該銀行存放於歐洲清算銀行的資產遭到凍結。BCS Bank held securities and funds at Euroclear through Russia's National Settlement Depository, which was placed under EU sanctions in June 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This resulted in the freezing of the bank's assets held by Euroclear.

BCS銀行於2024年7月要求比利時釋出其資產，但遭國庫部門拒絕。BCS隨後於2024年10月向比利時國務委員會提出上訴，反對這項拒絕決定。BCS Bank asked Belgium to have its assets released in July 2024, which the treasury department refused. BCS then appealed against the refusal to the Belgian Council of State in October 2024.

週五的裁定指出，依照歐盟制裁規則，比利時必須指定一個「主管機關」，負責裁定釋出凍結資產的請求。Friday's ruling said that under EU sanctions rules, Belgium must designate a "competent authority" to decide on requests to release frozen assets.

比利時將這項權力賦予財政部長，財政部長再授權給財政部國庫部門的署長。法院裁定，這項授權範圍過廣，且定義不夠明確。Belgium gave that power to the finance minister, who then delegated it to the administrator-general of the ministry's treasury department. The court ruled that this delegation was too broad and insufficiently defined.

歐洲遭凍結的俄羅斯資產約達2,000億歐元（2,307億美元），其中大部分存放於歐洲清算銀行。Most of the roughly €200 billion ($230.7 billion) in frozen Russian assets held in Europe are kept at Euroclear.

歐盟執委會去年提議利用這些資產為烏克蘭貸款提供擔保。但比利時反對，表示該方案未提供足夠保證，確保比利時不會被迫獨自面對俄羅斯可能提出的訴訟與損害賠償要求。因此，這項計畫遭到擱置。The European Commission last year proposed using the assets to back a loan for Ukraine. But Belgium opposed that, ‌saying it ⁠did not provide sufficient guarantees that it would not be left alone to deal with potential lawsuits and demands of damages from Russia. As a result, the plan was dropped.

不過，數個歐盟成員國近期已要求歐盟重啟相關辯論。However, several EU member states have recently asked for the EU to reopen the debate.

（1美元 = 0.8669歐元）($1 = 0.8669 euros)

（布魯塞爾夏洛特・范・坎彭豪特報導，莫斯科Elena Fabrichnaya補充報導，Inti Landauro與Alex Richardson編輯）(Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout in Brussels, additional reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya in Moscow, Editing by Inti Landauro and Alex Richardson)