The ICAC outlines topical matters and arbitration practice during martial law at the III Ukrainian Arbitration Forum

The ICAC is honored to become the National Arbitration Partner of the IIIrd Ukrainian Arbitration Forum. Two ICAC experts – Volodymyr Nagnybida, Vice President of the ICAC and Zoya Lytvynenko, Secretary General of the ICAC spoke at the event.

The discussions at the III Ukrainian Arbitration Forum focused on the practical challenges to be addressed by both state authorities and the arbitration community in connection with the military aggression of the Russian Federation. They included the transfer of freezed assets of the Russian Federation to Ukraine for reconstruction and compensations; strengthening the sanctions pressure; and ensuring effective arbitration in wartime.

The delegates worked through 3 insightful sessions and 16 expert presentations.

The first session of the event was devoted to the role of arbitration in Ukraine and in the world. The session was moderated by Oleg Malinevskyi, Managing Partner of EQUITY law firm. Malinevskyi also delivered a special report “Compensation for war-related damages – capabilities of international arbitration”.

Zoya Lytvynenko, Secretary General of the ICAC, touched upon the key initiatives that empowered the ICAC for effective functioning during the war. She talked about the unprecedented measures taken by the ICAC at the beginning of the full-scale invasion and the statistical indicators of the ICAC’s activities during the period of martial law.

The second session was focused at the development of arbitration practice, moderated by Maryna Riashchenko, Counsel at Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm.

Volodymyr Nagnybida, Vice President of the ICAC, discussed the impact of sanctions on international commercial arbitration. Mr. Nahnybida highlighted the procedural aspects of sanction-sensitive arbitration proceedings, the compliance requirements of international commercial arbitration institutions and the consequences of violation of the sanctions regime by parties to arbitration proceedings.

Recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards both by national courts of Ukraine and courts of other countries was the topic of the third session of the III Ukrainian Arbitration Forum, moderated by Oleksiy Maslov, Counsel at AVELLUM.

In addition to the representatives of the ICAC Presidium, the speakers of the III Ukrainian Arbitration Forum also included our arbitrators:

Markiyan Malskyi, Partner of International Dispute Resolution Practice, Head of Ukrainian Desk at Kochański & Partners, Doctor of Law (Warsaw, Poland), who made a presentation “Ukraine – Russia: International Investment Arbitration: Prospects and Problematic Aspects”
Sergiy Gryshko, Managing Partner of Queritus Ukraine, spoke on the Interim measures in Arbitration that work in practice
Maria Kostytska, Head of International Arbitration Practice, Partner of the Paris and Washington offices of Winston & Strawn LLP (Paris, France) discussed the experience in recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards in the USA, England and France. She also summarized the best practices for enforcing the reimbursement from the Russian Federation for the War in Ukraine”.

Continuing operations during the extremely challenging 2022, the ICAC accepted 373 cases for consideration – 25% more than in the previous year. 86% of cases were considered within six months. At a time when Ukraine is forced to defend its territory, values of democracy and the rule of law with weapons, the ICAC has once again proved its institutional resilience and commitment to the institution’s mission – transforming Ukraine into the leading arbitration seat in Eastern Europe and to strengthen its image as a pro-arbitration jurisdiction.

The recording of the broadcast is available by the link.