- By Ajeet Kumar
- Wed, 12 Aug 2026 01:28 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
- Ex-CJI Chandrachud appointed Russia's arbitrator in Ukraine dispute.
- Dispute involves Ukrainian Oschadbank's war-affected assets.
- Chandrachud previously declined similar arbitration requests from Russia.
Former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has been appointed by Russia to serve as its arbitrator (a person who is chosen to settle an argument between two people or two groups of people or states) in an international investment treaty dispute brought by Ukrainian state-owned bank Oschadbank, Bar and Bench reported on Wednesday.
What is the case?
The case is being heard by a three-member tribunal under the 1998 bilateral investment treaty between Russia and Ukraine. Oschadbank’s claim relates to the impact of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 on its assets and business operations in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. The bank alleges it lost control of these assets following Russian military actions. The claim is understood to be valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.
Who are leading the legal battle?
According to a report by the Global Arbitration Review, cited by Bar and Bench, the tribunal’s president is Costa Rican arbitrator and former trade minister Dyala Jimenez, who was jointly selected by Russia and Oschadbank.
Oschadbank has appointed Greek arbitrator and National University of Singapore professor Stavros Brekoulakis as its nominee. Chandrachud has been named by Russia as the third member. Oschadbank initiated the arbitration after Russia allegedly failed to respond to a notice of dispute the bank served in July 2025.
Ex-CJI Chandrachud had declined Russia's request twice
Chandrachud’s appointment comes after he had earlier declined approaches from Russia to act as its arbitrator in two other treaty disputes, one involving German energy company Wintershall Dea and another concerning Ukrainian state-owned power transmission firm Ukrenergo.
Those approaches were reportedly made on the same day that the Permanent Court of Arbitration designated Chandrachud as the appointing authority in the Wintershall proceedings. He later stepped down from that role after disclosing the communications.
The development places the former Chief Justice of India in a high-profile international arbitration arising from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, highlighting the growing involvement of Indian legal figures in global investment treaty disputes.