Belgium was the first country in the world to prohibit investments in producers of cluster munitions. The 2007 law prohibits: “the financing of a company under Belgian law or under the law of another country, which is involved in the manufacture, use, repair, marketing, sale, distribution, import, export, stockpiling or transportation of anti-personnel mines and or sub-munitions within the sense of this act, and with a view to distribution thereof (…).” The law states the exact meaning of financing, which it defines as “all forms of financial support, namely credits, bank guarantees or the acquisition for own account of the financial instrument these companies have issued.”

Ireland was a driving force behind the Oslo process. It signed and ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 3 December 2008.

Already before that, Irelands National Pensions Reserve Fund announced that it would withdraw its investments from six international companies involved in producing cluster munitions. Ireland was the first country to specify an investment prohibition in the legislation implementing and ratifying the CCM. This is an important example for other countries. Ireland has also stated that investing in or financing prohibited weapon production undermines the international legal framework that governs their prohibition.

Italy signed the CCM on 3 December 2008 and ratified it on 21 September 2011. On 4 July 2011, the Law on the Ratification and Implementation of the Oslo Convention on the ban on cluster munitions (Law no. 95) was published. Art. 7 (1) of that Law declares financial assistance to acts prohibited by the law to be a crime.

The Italian Campaign to Ban Landmines has advocated a separate, more detailed law. On 26 April 2010, separate draft legislation on investments was introduced in the Senate. It would prohibit all Italian financial institutions from providing any form of support to Italian or foreign companies performing a range of activities including the production, use, sale, import, export, stockpiling, or transport of antipersonnel mines as well as cluster munitions and explosive submunitions. As of August 2018, the amended law (now referred to as S.1) is pending approval through a privileged process in the Senate.

The Principality of Liechtenstein signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Oslo on 3 December 2008. Liechtenstein ratified the convention on 4 March 2013. At the same time, the Parliament of Liechtenstein approved an amendment to the Law on Brokering War Material which entered into force on 1 September 2013. The amended law prohibits brokering and direct and indirect financing of prohibited war material, including cluster munitions. The prohibition is set out in Articles 7b and 7c, governing direct and indirect investment:

“Art. 7b Prohibition of direct financing

1. The direct financing of the development, manufacture or acquisition of prohibited war material is prohibited.
2. Direct financing within the meaning of this Act is the direct extension of credits, loans or donations or comparable financial benefits to cover the costs of or to promote the development, manufacture or acquisition of prohibited war material.

Art. 7c Prohibition of indirect financing

1. The indirect financing of the development, manufacture or acquisition of prohibited war material is prohibited where the prohibition of direct financing is circumvented thereby.
2. Indirect financing within the meaning of this Act is:

a. the participation in companies that develop, manufacture or acquire forbidden war material.

b. the acquisition of bonds or other investments products issued by such companies.”

Luxembourg passed its Convention on Cluster Munitions ratification law on 7 May 2009. Article 3 of the law contains a ban on investments: “All persons, businesses and corporate entities are prohibited from knowingly financing cluster munitions or explosive submunitions.” At the first Meeting of State Parties in Laos, the Luxembourg Vice Prime Minister Jean Asselborn has encouraged all states who have signed the Convention states to prohibit the financing of cluster bombs.

In January 2013 the Dutch Market Abuse (Financial Supervision Act) Decree entered into force that imposes an obligation that prevents any Dutch financial institution to directly support any national or foreign enterprise which produces, sells or distributes cluster munitions. The legislation includes a prohibition on: providing loans, acquiring or offering a financial instrument that has been issued by a company engaging in the production, selling, or distribution of cluster munitions, and acquiring non-marketable holdings in the capital of such a company. The above is equally prohibited for enterprises that hold more than half of the share capital of an enterprise that produces, sells or distributes cluster munitions. It does not apply to:

a. transactions based on an index in which enterprises described in subsection 1 (a) constitute less than 5 percent of the total;

b. transactions in investment funds operated by third parties in which enterprises described in subsection 1 (a) constitute less than 5 percent of the total; and

c. investments in clearly defined projects carried out by an enterprise described in subsection 1 (a) insofar as such funding is not utilized for the production, sale and distribution of cluster munitions.

A financial institution in violation of Article 21a can be sanctioned to a fine with a set basic amount of €500,000 and a maximum of €1,000,000.

The Cluster Munitions (Prohibition) Bill of 2009, which governs New Zealand’s implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, includes a prohibition on investment in cluster munitions: “A person commits an offence who provides or invests funds with the intention that the funds be used, or knowing that they are to be used, in the development or production of cluster munitions.” The law is clear about what sort of financing is prohibited: “funds mean assets of every kind, whether tangible or intangible, moveable or immoveable, however acquired; and includes legal documents or instruments (for example bank credits, travellers’ cheques, bank cheques, money orders, shares, securities, bonds, drafts, and letters of credit) in any form (for example, in electronic or digital form) evidencing title to, or an interest in, assets of any kind.” The legislation was unanimously adopted and signed into law by the governor-general on 17 December 2009 paving the way for the deposit of New Zealand’s ratification instrument on 23 December 2009.

Saint Kitts & Nevis acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 13 September 2013.[i] Its “Cluster Munitions Prohibition Act” came into effect in 2014. The Act contains an explicit prohibition on investments in cluster munitions. A reference to the Act was also contained in Saint Kitts & Nevis’ Article 7 report over 2017, as part of the reporting on measures for national implementation.[ii]

Article 4 of the Cluster Munitions Prohibition Act states that:“

[…] A person shall not provide or invest funds with the intention that those funds are to be used, or knowing that they are to be used, in the development or production of cluster munitions.”

It also provides for penalties for violation the Act:

“A person who commits an offence against the investment prohibition can be convicted to a prison sentence of maximum of ten years or a fine of maximum $50,000, or both.”

Article 7 clarifies the scope of application of the Act:

“(1) This Act applies to all acts done in Saint Christopher and Nevis.

(2) This Act also applies to all acts done outside Saint Christopher and Nevis by a citizen of Saint Christopher and Nevis or by a company incorporated in Saint Christopher and Nevis or by a member of the Defence Force.”

The Convention on Cluster Munitions ratification law of the Independent State of Samoa took effect on 27 April 2012. Part II, article 6 of the Cluster Munitions Prohibition Act 2012 contains a prohibition on investments in cluster munitions. The Cluster Munitions Prohibition Act 2012 states that: “[…] a person who directly or indirectly does one (1) or more of the following commits an offence: invest funds with the intention that the funds be used, or knowing that the are to be used, in the development or production of cluster munitions.” The law clearly defines what it means by funds: “funds means assets of every kind, whether tangible or intangible, moveable or immoveable, however acquired; and includes legal documents or instruments in any form evidencing title to, or an interest in, assets of any kind.”

Spain announced banning financing of cluster munitions in the State’s Official Bulletin number 180 published on 29 July 2015. The ban was included in the amended law of 33/1998 on total ban of antipersonnel mines and similar arms and states that “Therefore, the financing or marketing of this type of arms by any means, and of all related items described in the previous paragraph, is prohibited.” (official text: (“Asimismo, queda prohibida la financiación o la publicidad de este tipo de armas, y de los conceptos explicitados en el párrafo anterior, por cualquier medio.”)

Switzerland passed its Convention on Cluster Munitions ratification law on 17 July 2012. Switzerland enacted legislation to implement the Convention by approving amendments to its Federal Law on War Material which came into force 1 February 2013.

The Federal Law on War Material was amended to include a prohibition on direct and indirect investments in prohibited war materiel, including cluster munitions. Article 8b regarding direct investments reads as follows:

“1. The direct financing of the development, manufacture or acquisition of prohibited war material is itself prohibited.

2. Direct financing within the meaning of this Act is the direct granting of credits, loans or gifts or comparable financial advantages in order to pay or advance costs and expenditures that are associated with the development, manufacture or acquisition of prohibited war material.”

Article 8c covers indirect investments, which are forbidden “where the prohibition of direct financing is circumvented thereby.”