New Delhi, August 2026: In a significant international legal development, Russia has appointed former Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud as its nominee on a three-member international arbitration tribunal hearing a dispute involving Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank.
The dispute relates to Oschadbank’s claims over assets and banking operations in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. The Ukrainian bank alleges that it suffered substantial losses following Russia’s military actions in Ukraine. The proceedings are being conducted under the 1998 Ukraine-Russia Bilateral Investment Treaty.
The arbitration tribunal will have three members. Costa Rican arbitrator Dyalá Jiménez, jointly selected by the parties, will serve as the tribunal’s president. Stavros Brekoulakis, a Greek arbitrator and professor at the National University of Singapore, has been appointed by Oschadbank. Chandrachud will serve as Russia’s nominated arbitrator.
The appointment is particularly notable because Chandrachud had reportedly declined previous approaches from Russia to serve as an arbitrator in other investment disputes connected to the Ukraine conflict. He has now accepted the role in the Oschadbank case.
The development highlights the international recognition of Justice Chandrachud’s legal expertise following his tenure as the 50th Chief Justice of India, which ended in November 2024. The arbitration will now determine the legal and financial issues arising from Oschadbank’s claims against Russia.
