Russia appoints ex-CJI Chandrachud arbitrator in Ukraine dispute
In a rare honour for a former Chief Justice of India, Russia has appointed DY Chandrachud as an arbitrator in a high-stakes investment treaty dispute between Russia and Ukrainian-owned Oschadbank. He retired on November 10, 2024, after serving as the 50th Chief Justice of India.
Justice Chandrachud will represent Russia in an international arbitration tribunal hearing a dispute brought by Ukrainian state-owned bank Oschadbank.
The case pertains to the war between Russia and Ukraine and the claimed impact of military operations on the bank’s operations.
The case stems from Oschadbank’s claim over assets and business operations in Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
The bank says it lost these following Russia’s military actions in Ukraine after 2022.
The dispute is being heard under the 1998 bilateral investment treaty between Russia and Ukraine, reported Bar and Bench. Oschadbank’s claim is understood to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
The tribunal will have three members. Costa Rican arbitrator and former trade minister Dyala Jimenez will serve as its president after being selected jointly by Russia and Oschadbank.
Greek arbitrator and National University of Singapore (NUS) professor Stavros Brekoulakis was chosen by Oschadbank as the third member.
Justice Chandrachud’s appointment comes after he had reportedly turned down approaches from Russia previously to serve as its arbitrator in treaty disputes involving Wintershall Dea, a gas and oil production company, and Ukrenergo, a state-owned power transmission firm.
Those approaches were reportedly made on the same day that the Permanent Court of Arbitration had designated Chandrachud as the appointing authority in the Wintershall proceedings. He later relinquished that role after disclosing the communications.
Oschadbank has stated that it has suffered the loss of substantial assets and the ability to continue business operations following Russia’s military action began in February 2022.
The bank described these as seized or lost banking assets and investments in the temporarily occupied or affected territories of those four regions, which forced it to suspend operations there.
This is a separate proceeding from Oschadbank’s earlier arbitration against Russia over the expropriation of its assets and Crimean branch following the 2014 annexation of Crimea, in which a tribunal awarded the bank approximately $1.1 billion, later increased with interest.
Oschadbank has publicly noted that it is documenting all losses incurred since 2022 for recovery through this new claim.
These details come primarily from Oschadbank’s own official statements, including its July 2025 Notice of Dispute and April 2026 Notice of Arbitration announcements, and contemporaneous reporting.
