MOSCOW, July 6 - RAPSI. The Ninth Commercial Appellate Court will hear an appeal filed by Rosneft minority shareholder and renowned whistleblower Alexey Navalny on August 2 against the rejection of his request for corporate documents, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com) on Friday.

Navalny has disputed the Moscow Commercial Court's May 14 decision.

Earlier, the trial court dismissed two claims to grant Navalny access to company contracts to supply oil to China, as well as the minutes of the Rosneft board meetings for 2009.

Initially, the claims were considered separately, but the court united them in January.

Rosneft has also filed an appeal against the judgment. It will be reviewed on the same day as Navalny's appeal.

The litigation has been continuing for over a year on three levels.

Rosneft has said in court that its board has two levels of authority - statutory and extended - and minority shareholders are not entitled to receive documents earmarked for shareholders with extended authorization.

The Federal Service for Financial Markets has also been involved in the case. The watchdog ordered Rosneft in July 2010 to rectify its violations in denying Navalny the documents.

In April 2011, Navalny asked Rosneft for copies of seven contracts concluded as part of a major oil supply deal with China. He later submitted a similar request to the company in October. The documents include contracts on a $15 billion loan issued to Rosneft by the China Development Bank and a 20-year crude oil supply contract with the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

The transactions were approved by Rosneft on June 19, 2009. Navalny filed a lawsuit as he believes the treaties were not concluded on an arms length basis.

Russia has supplied oil to China via the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Oil pipeline since January 1, 2010. As per a Russian-Chinese intergovernmental agreement, the oil will be supplied for 20 years as per the contracts signed by Rosneft, Transneft and CNPC, in the amount of 15 million metric tons per year. Under the agreement, the buyer will pay for the oil at market price.