Ukraine as a Seat of Arbitration

On 10 October 2025, International Commercial Arbitration Court - ICAC hosted the XII International Arbitration Readings in memory of Academician Igor Pobirchenko - one of the most anticipated arbitration events of the year in Ukraine. With over 100 participants in Kyiv and more than 500 joining online, this year’s topic - "Ukraine as a Seat of Arbitration. A Contemporary Dimension of Efficiency"- sparked a timely and multifaceted discussion.

I had the honour of moderating the first session, Made in Ukraine: A New - Generation Arbitration Jurisdiction, featuring: Prof. Catherine A. Rogers, Oksana Karel, Olexander Droug.

Together, we explored:

✔️ What makes a jurisdiction arbitration-friendly: legal framework, judicial support, infrastructure, and human capital
✔️ Ukraine’s impressive statistics: more than 90% of arbitral awards are enforced, and fewer than 1% are annulled
✔️ The growing role of Ukrainian arbitration professionals in commercial and investment disputes
✔️ Systemic shifts in Ukrainian court practice supporting arbitration
✔️ The impact of reconstruction and defense-sector contracts on future arbitrations related to Ukraine

The message was clear: 𝗨𝗸𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 - 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗮 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲, 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, with reforms and strategic initiatives already underway.

Grateful to ICAC and all speakers for fostering such a rich and forward - looking dialogue.