The ICAC’s Vice Presidents took part in the Inaugural Meeting of the Interdepartmental Coordination Council on ADR Development

On 01 December 2025, the ICAC’s Vice Presidents Volodymyr Nahnybida and Yuriy Prytyka took part in the first meeting of the Interdepartmental Coordination Council (the Council) on the Development of Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods, held with the support of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy.

Roman Babii, a People’s Deputy of Ukraine and the Chairperson of the Sub-committee on Enforcement of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and Alternative Dispute Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Legal Policy opened the meeting. He expressed gratitude to all stakeholders, government officials, and ADR experts for their efforts in establishing the Interagency Coordination Council and emphasized its role as an effective platform for communication and professional discussion on the development of mediation, international arbitration and domestic arbitration in Ukraine.

Oleksandr Oliinyk, the Head of the Directorate of Justice and Criminal Justice of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and the moderator of the meeting, drew attention to various aspects of the Council’s functioning, its activities within specialized working groups (according to their respective areas of competence), as well as the procedure for adopting and subsequently implementing decisions made within the Council’s framework.

He further emphasized the current state of the implementation of mediation in Ukraine and the tasks set for Ukraine in strategic documents. He outlined the problematic issues proposed for consideration by the relevant working group, particularly regarding the introduction of mandatory informational and evaluative meetings conducted by mediators.

In addition, he highlighted the challenges associated with implementing mandatory pre-trial settlement in certain categories of disputes. In particular, a significant obstacle is the lack of statistical data on the use of mediation and the number of practising mediators, which makes it impossible to objectively assess institutional capacity of the state and specialised professionals to introduce mandatory pre-trial settlement in certain categories of disputes.

He noted that additional analysis is required on issues related to remuneration of mediators, monitoring and quality control of their work, maintaining a register of mediators involved in mandatory pre-trial settlement, and determining the appropriate authority to maintain such a register or whether such a register is needed at all.

The ICAC’s Vice President Volodymyr Nahnybida outlined global trends in arbitration practice, the current state of arbitration in Ukraine, and specific aspects of the functioning of the national arbitration institutions – the ICAC and the UMAC.

He highlighted the progress of digitalization within permanent arbitration institutions and its impact on the resolution of international commercial disputes, noting the growing role and influence of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. He also drew attention to the ongoing diversification in case types, the compositions of arbitral tribunals, and the geographical profile of participating parties.
These specific trends are developing alongside the traditional trends accompanying arbitration (the focus of arbitration institutions on efficiency, speed (including SEDR) and specialization, the introduction of high standards of conduct and integrity in the consideration of disputes (including in accordance with the IBA Guidelines on Conflicts of Interest in International Arbitration, revised in 2024), as well as trends caused by armed conflicts (including the aggression of the Russian Federation) and the sanctions, international restrictions, and other geopolitical challenges.

Volodymyr Nahnybida focused separately on key areas of legislative work in the field of international commercial arbitration. He noted the significant work done by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, in particular the Committee on Legal Policy, on draft law No. 12141 as of 21 October 2024, “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine ‘On International Commercial Arbitration’ Regarding the Expansion of the Competence of International Arbitration,” and also noted that another draft law of Ukraine is currently being prepared and discussed, concerning amendments to certain laws of Ukraine on improving arbitration legislation, judicial control, and support for international commercial arbitration. The speaker noted that the purpose of these initiatives is to alignUkrainian legislation with UNCITRAL standards, in particular the Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration, as well as to harmonize a number of other conceptual aspects.

A separate section of the report was devoted to the functioning of the national arbitration institutions—the ICAC and the UMAC. Volodymyr highlighted the institutional strengths, namely the speed, cost-effectiveness, and efficiency of dispute resolution, active implementation of digital technologies, transfer to cloud computing, electronic case management, and the consistent quality of awards.In this context, statistical data were also presented: over 3,000 awards issued by the ICAC during the period 2015–2025, only 202 were appealed, and merely 5 were set aside. It is also noteworthy that parties from 54 countries participated in arbitration proceedings in 2024, which, according to the speaker, already indicates a high level of business confidence in arbitration in Ukraine.

Також доповідач підкреслив, що в Україні сформовано позитивне та стабільне арбітражне середовище. На це, зокрема, впливає сучасна судова практика, яка демонструє чіткий arbitration-friendly підхід.

The speaker also emphasized that Ukraine has developed a positive and stable arbitration environment. This is influenced, in particular, by current judicial practice, which demonstrates a clear pro-arbitration position.
At the same time, he outlined the key areas for further development:

continuing to adapt the national arbitration legislation to the UNCITRAL standards (in particular with regard to interim measures, terminology, and procedural mechanisms);
strengthening institutional support for arbitration by state authorities;
enhancing Ukraine’s international standing as an arbitration jurisdiction within the European and global arbitration community.

According to the speaker, these steps create realistic grounds for further strengthening Ukraine’s position in the field of international commercial arbitration and give rise to well-founded optimism about the future development of the country’s arbitration ecosystem.

Continuing the discussion on the functioning of alternative dispute resolution institutions in Ukraine, Taras Shepel, the Head of Arbitration Chamber of Ukraine and permanent arbitration court at the UCCI, highlighted the positive developments in the activity of domestic arbitration courts, outlines the state of affairs in the field of dispute resolution by the and, particularly, the permanent arbitration court at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He pointed out certain obstacles that, in his opinion, prevent the effective development of domestic arbitration courts: the low awareness of civil society about the effectiveness of domestic arbitration dispute resolution, organizational problems in the functioning of domestic arbitration courts and the enforcement of their decisions, as well as the state of legislative work in this area.

Other members of the Council and participants of the meeting also took an active part in the discussion, in particular:

Natalia Kovalko – the representative of the All-Ukrainian Industry Association “Federation of Employers in the Oil and Gas Industry”, the head of the alternative dispute resolution department of the joint-stock company “National Joint-Stock Company ”Naftogaz of Ukraine”;
Iryna PETROVA – the Head of the Mediation Center of the Notary Chamber of Ukraine;
Elina Shyshkina – the Coordinator of the Access to Justice Program, Project Manager of the Protection of Procedural Rights of Children in the Digital Age (PPRO CHILD) project of the separate division Terre des homes – Helping Children Around the World – Foundation” in Ukraine;
Viktoriia Antonova – a Judge at the Commercial Court in Kyiv Region, representative of the Weinstein International Foundation;
Luiza Romanadze – the President of the Ukrainian Academy of Mediation;
Oksana Rusetska – the President of the Association of Private Enforcement Officers of Ukraine, private enforcement officer of the Dnipropetrovsk Region Enforcement District;
Yulia Karaush – the Chair of the Committee on Mediation and Conflict Resolution of the National Association of Arbitration Managers.

In general, the participants of the meeting of the Interdepartmental Coordination Council on the Development of Alternative Dispute Resolution unanimously noted the importance of creating such a coordination platform. It was emphasized that the participation of the representatives of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, the relevant committee of the Verkhovna Rada, and the relevant subcommittee paves the road for developing recommendations and effectively implementing them both at the legislative level and at the state policy level. This would lead Ukraine to the realizations of the roadmap on the rule of law, including in the specific area of alternative dispute resolution.