Former CJI DY Chandrachud has been appointed by Russia as arbitrator in Oschadbank’s Ukraine investment dispute under the 1998 Russia-Ukraine BIT.
Former Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud has been appointed by the Russian Federation as its arbitrator in a major investment treaty dispute brought by Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank over losses suffered in four Ukrainian regions.
Former Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud has been appointed by the Russian Federation as its arbitrator in an international investment dispute involving Ukraine’s state-owned bank, Oschadbank. The proceedings concern claims arising from the loss of the bank’s assets and operations in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia following Russia’s full-scale military action in Ukraine.
The appointment places one of India’s most prominent recently retired judges at the centre of a high-value international arbitration arising from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The dispute is being pursued under the 1998 Russia-Ukraine Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT), an agreement designed to provide investment protections to investors of the two countries.
Oschadbank’s investment claims
Oschadbank formally commenced the new arbitration proceedings on April 7, 2026. The bank says it suffered substantial losses to its assets and operations in the four regions as a result of Russia’s actions. Before commencing the arbitration, Oschadbank had issued a formal notice of dispute to Russia in July 2025, invoking protections under the bilateral investment treaty.
The present proceedings are separate from an earlier arbitration concerning Oschadbank’s assets in Crimea. In that case, an arbitral tribunal constituted under the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules found in favour of the Ukrainian bank and awarded damages of more than US$1.11 billion against Russia.
The new claim extends Oschadbank’s legal battle to losses allegedly suffered in eastern and southern Ukraine after the escalation of the conflict in 2022. The amount sought in the current proceedings has been described as a multi-million-dollar claim, although the final quantum will be determined through the arbitral process.
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Chandrachud joins three-member tribunal
Justice Chandrachud’s role is as an arbitrator appointed by Russia, rather than as a judge deciding the dispute on behalf of the Russian state. The case is expected to be heard by a three-member arbitral tribunal, with the parties participating in the constitution of the tribunal.
The appointment is notable given Justice Chandrachud’s extensive judicial experience in arbitration and commercial law. During his tenure as Chief Justice of India, he presided over important decisions concerning arbitration, including questions relating to the independence and appointment of arbitrators.
In a significant 2024 judgment, a Constitution Bench led by Justice Chandrachud examined unilateral arbitrator appointments and stressed the importance of equality and impartiality in arbitral proceedings. The judgment observed that a three-member tribunal ordinarily allows each party to nominate an arbitrator while providing a mechanism for selection of a neutral third member.
The appointment also comes against the backdrop of Justice Chandrachud’s publicly expressed support for arbitration as an important mechanism for resolving complex commercial disputes. In a 2024 lecture at the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, he described commercial arbitration as an increasingly preferred means of obtaining commercial justice while also acknowledging concerns such as cost, delay and arbitrator bias.
Wider significance of the dispute
The Oschadbank proceedings illustrate how the economic consequences of the Russia-Ukraine conflict are increasingly being contested through international legal mechanisms. Investment treaties can provide a route for investors to seek compensation when they allege that protected investments have been unlawfully taken or damaged.
The 1998 Russia-Ukraine BIT has already featured in Oschadbank’s earlier successful Crimea claim. The current proceedings could therefore become another important test of how investment treaty protections apply to assets affected by the conflict in territories under Russian control.
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The development is also relevant for those tracking India’s arbitration landscape. Justice Chandrachud’s transition from India’s highest court to an international arbitral role highlights the growing prominence of retired judges from major jurisdictions in cross-border dispute resolution.
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The case will now move through the international arbitration process, where questions concerning jurisdiction, treaty protections, liability and compensation will ultimately have to be determined by the tribunal. The appointment of Justice Chandrachud ensures that the proceedings will receive considerable attention in international arbitration circles.
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