Recent Arbitration Events: Overview from Ukraine

For Ukrainian arbitration practitioners the first 10 days of February 2012 was rich in arbitration events, dedicated as they were to different issues of investment, commercial and sports arbitration.

Several factors explain such a broad range of topics. Among these are: UEFA Euro 2012, which is to be co-hosted by Ukraine and Poland this summer; the growing number of international arbitrations against Ukraine and Ukrainian State entities; and the wider use of international commercial arbitration by Ukrainian companies.

“International Disputes with States and State Affiliated Companies: Legal Aspects and Practice in Ukraine” – 1 February 2012, Kyiv, Ukraine

The seminar was organised under the patronage of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and initiative of Sayenko Kharenko in collaboration with Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners by Centralex.

The programme of the seminar dealt with all key issues covered by this topic, ranging from the attribution of liability to the State for the conduct of its instrumentalities and analysis of BITs, to the practice of international dispute resolution involving States and State entities.

The programme was divided into two panels and a Q&A session.

The speakers of the first panel discussed why States enter into international disputes and focused on the experience and practice of Ukraine. The issues were reviewed by Tatyana Slipachuk of Sayenko Kharenko, Ukraine; Elena Trapeznikova, Head of the Administration of the Representation of the Interests of the State in International and Foreign Courts of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine; and Michael Polkinghorne of White & Case, France.

The practical aspects of disputes involving States were elaborated by the second panel, which consisted of Annette Magnusson, Secretary General of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, Sweden; Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi of Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners, Ukraine; and Yuliya Chernykh of Arbitrade, Ukraine.

The seminar also included an interactive discussion concerning various theoretical and practical issues relating to bringing the State to account for the wrongdoings of its instrumentalities and State participation in both commercial and investment treaty arbitration, as well as in related enforcement proceedings.

The event was attended mainly by representatives of State authorities and entities, as well as by private practitioners, Ukrainian and foreign arbitration specialists.

“Arbitration in Sport 2012” – 8 February 2012, Warsaw, Poland

The first ever international conference in Poland concerning sports arbitration took place at the University of Warsaw and gathered leading international sports arbitration specialists from Germany, France, Poland, Switzerland and Ukraine.

The event was organised by the Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution, with the Lewiatan Court of Arbitration and YAPP (Young Arbitration Practitioners in Poland) acting as partners to the event.

The programme of the conference was divided into three panels.

The first panel was moderated by Dr Beata Gessel-Kalinowska vel Kalisz of GESSEL, Poland, with experts from different countries discussing international sports arbitration before the CAS in Lausanne, namely: Dr Lucien W Valloni of Froriep Renggli, Switzerland; Dr Jalal El Ahdab of Orrick, France; Mec. Paweł Granecki of Broniszewski & Granecki, Poland; Laurence Burger of Winston & Strawn, Switzerland; Dr Nils Schmidt-Ahrendts of Hanefeld Rechtsanwälte, Germany; and Yuliya Chernykh of Arbitrade, Ukraine.

The second panel was moderated by Mec. Piotr Nowaczyk of Salans, Poland, and was dedicated to three topics: the CAS Ad Hoc Division; UEFA EURO 2012; and football cases.  The framework and practice of the CAS Ad Hoc Division in major sports events were reviewed by Olena Perepelynska of Sayenko Kharenko, Ukraine, and Jorge E Ibarrola of Libra Law, Switzerland. Other speakers on the panel focused on UEFA EURO 2012 and football cases, namely: Tomasz Zahorski of PL 2012, Poland; Dr Marek Jeżewski of Kochański Zięba Rąpała i Partnerzy, Poland; Tomasz Pasieczny, Poland; and  Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi of Egorov Puginsky Afanasiev & Partners, Ukraine.

The third panel was moderated by Prof Dr hab. Zbigniew Ćwiąkalski, President of the Court of Arbitration for Sport at the Polish Olympic Committee, and comprised a debate on sports arbitration in Poland among: Prof Dr hab. Andrzej Wach of the University of Warsaw, Poland; Mec. Romana Troicka-Sosińska, Secretary General of the Court of Arbitration for Sport at the Polish Olympic Committee (PKOl), Poland; and Mec. Andrzej Springer of BWWS, Poland.

The conference preceded the Fourth Warsaw Pre-moot (9-10 February 2012) – an international preparatory event for teams representing Polish and foreign universities in the Willem C. Vis. International Commercial Arbitration Moot Competition.

“Commercial Contracts and Disputes Resolution Conference” – 9 February 2012, Kyiv, Ukraine

This conference was organised by the FA-Service primarily for the heads of legal departments and in-house counsels of Ukrainian companies.

The event was divided into three panels and concerned various topics.

Alexey Muraviev, Judge of the High Commercial Court of Ukraine, and Yaroslav Petrov of Asters, delivered speeches on dispute resolution mechanisms and strategies.

Practical aspects of concluding commercial contracts were reviewed by: Alexander Onufrienko of Kinto; Lana Sinichkina of Arzinger; Helen Sukmanova of Pravex-Bank; Gennady Vasyukov of the Center of Legal Solutions; and Vitaly Panov of Yug Contract.

Dispute resolution in investment and commercial arbitration was discussed at the end of the conference. Konstantin Krasovsky of Cadogan Petroleum plc spoke about investment dispute resolution and Olena Perepelynska of Sayenko Kharenko closed the conference with a presentation on choice of seat of arbitration criteria.

Olena Perepelynska, MCIArb
Counsel at Sayenko Kharenko in Kyiv, Ukraine