The 9th Arbitration Appeals Court has ruled that state-run oil giant Rosneft public corporation should provide its 2009 board meetings protocols to minority shareholder and famous blogger Aleksey Navalny. The ruling says the information to be revealed should allow for the regime of corporate confidentiality.   

The decision follows earlier ruling of Moscow’s Arbitration Court, dated August 17, 2010. The court obliged Rosneft to provide Navalny the protocols of the board meeting without any restrictions.   

The lawyers of Rosneft brought in current company’s regulations on the accessibility of corporate data. A representative of the oil giant said that the court had not examined the issue of Navalny’s abuse of a shareholder’s right to have access to the company’s information. According to the lawyer, “noble eradication of corruption worldwide has nothing to do with the realisation of shareholder’s rights”. The official of Rosneft added that such actions aim at “giving maximum negative publicity” to the company.  

Aleksey Navalny, who was present at the hearings, pointed to the fact that the company tried to prove his dishonesy referring to unauthorised articles and materials. The minority also asked whether there had been any legal decision on his disonestry and who initiated it. He is considering to appeal against the decision.  

Rosneft officials said that the board of directors has two types of competence: normal (stipulated by law) and extended. The minority shareholders have no access to the information related to the extended competence.

Navalny’s lawyer Dmitry Volov commented on the decision, saying that his client is unlikely to see the information about the approval of management board’s decision by the board of directors (because it relates to the extended competence). The lawyer said: “We will get only the date,  number and signature without content of the paper.”