On 06 February, 2025, the ICAC Vice President Inna Yemelianova took part in the meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy to deliberate on the Draft Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine ‘On International Commercial Arbitration’ with regards to Expanding the Competences of International Arbitration” (Reg. No. 12141), initiated by a group of Members of Parliament.

This legislative initiative was a logical next step to implement the Recommendations approved by the Legal Policy Committee based on the results of the Committee hearings held in March 2024 on the topic: “Paths to Peace: Challenges and Prospects for Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Modern World”. 

The amendments proposed by the Draft Law are aimed at expanding the competences of international commercial arbitration in two ways. The first one relates to a broader understanding of the concept of “international dispute” and implementing the relevant provisions of the UNCITRAL Model Law. Undoubtedly, new criteria for qualifying a dispute as international will expand the range of legal relations, which are currently outside the jurisdiction of international arbitration, to become subjects to arbitration. Such criteria include: the seat of arbitration; the place where most of the obligations are being fulfilled; the place closely connected with the subject matter of the dispute and the parties’ explicit consent that the subject matter of the arbitration agreement is connected with more than one country.

The second one relates to the development of Ukraine as a seat for investment arbitration, which will enable arbitrating  investment disputes between investors and the state of Ukraine or any other country in Ukraine.

The Committee ruled to recommend the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to adopt the Draft Law in the first reading.

The ICAC welcomes this legislative initiative and the support of the Committee and hopes that in the nearest future the Draft Law will be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and adopted in the first reading.

Adoption of the Draft Law will develop Ukraine as an attractive jurisdiction for resolving international commercial and investment disputes, improve its image in the international arena, as well as contribute to the development of the legal services market and investment inflows to Ukraine.