Russia appoints former CJI DY Chandrachud as arbitrator in investment treaty dispute with Ukrainian bank: Report

Oschadbank claims that it lost assets and operations in the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia after Russian military actions in Ukraine.

Russia has reportedly appointed former Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud as its arbitrator in an investment treaty dispute with Ukraine's state-owned bank, Oschadbank.

Justice DY Chandrachud was approached by Russia earlier as well to serve as its arbitrator in treaty claims brought by German energy company. However, he had declined. (PTI)

Cost Rican arbitrator and former trade minister Dyalá Jiménez has been chosen to preside over the three-member tribunal, Global Arbitration Review reported.

Jiménez was jointly selected as President by both Russia and Ukraine.

Stavros Brekoulakis, a Greek arbitrator and professor at the National University of Singapore, has been appointed as the third arbitrator by Ukraine's Oschadbank.

What the Ukraine bank claims

Oschadbank claims that it lost assets and operations in the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia after Russian military actions in Ukraine, especially after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Kyiv in February 2022.

Oschadbank's claim is reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Ukrainian bank initiated the arbitration proceedings after a notice of dispute served to Russia in July 2025 allegedly went unanswered.

The arbitration has been initiated in accordance with the 1998 bilateral investment treaty between Ukraine and Russia, the report said.

Russia is represented by Pinna Goldberg partner Andrea Pinna, counsel Pratyush Panjwani and senior associate Dimitrios Papageorgiou.

On the other hand, Ukraine's Oschadbank is represented by Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan partners, Epaminontas Triantafilou and Alex Gerbi, along with Asters partners Oleksiy Didkovskiy, Andrii Pozhidayev and Oksana Legka.

Russia-Ukraine investment treaty dispute

Oschadbank had earlier pursued Russia for losses in Crimea after Moscow annexed the territory in 2014.

The Ukrainian bank was awarded approximately US$1.1 billion by a Paris-seated tribunal, formed under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules, in 2018.

However, the award has been the subject of prolonged proceedings before the courts in France.

In 2021, the award was set aside after a French court accepted Russia's argument that the treaty's offer to arbitrate applied only to investments made after the opening of Oschadbank's Crimean branch, reported LiveLaw Business.

The very next year, the French Court of Cassation reinstated the award, stating that the French courts could not review the relevant provision.

In 2023 and 2024, the Paris-seated tribunal issued two further decisions, rejecting Russia's request to revise the award on the basis of new evidence. The tribunal reportedly directed Moscow to bear the costs of the revision proceedings.

Recently, the Paris Court of Appeal annulled the tribunal's decision on Russia's request to revise the award, and the cost order. This is because the court found that an amicus curiae brief, co-signed by arbitrator Charles Brower, created reasonable doubts about his fairness.

Therefore, Russia's revision request remains undecided, with the need for a fresh arbitral tribunal's adjudication.

Russia approached Chandrachud earlier as well

Notably, Justice Chandrachud was previously approached by Russia to serve as its arbitrator in treaty claims brought by German energy company, Wintershall Dea.

The German company had initiated the arbitration proceedings against Russia under the Energy Charter Treaty, Bar and Bench previously reported.

However, Chandrachud had declined the approaches, as they were made on the same day that the Permanent Court of Arbitration designated him as the appointing authority in the Wintershall proceedings.

Chandrachud later stepped down from the appointing authority role after disclosing the communications with Russia.