Former CJI D.Y. Chandrachud Appointed by Russia as Arbitrator in Ukraine’s Oschadbank Dispute

Former Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud has been appointed by Russia as its arbitrator in a new investment treaty dispute brought by Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank. The dispute has been initiated under the 1998 Ukraine-Russia Bilateral Investment Treaty and concerns assets and operations that Oschadbank says it lost in Ukrainian regions affected by Russia’s occupation. Oschadbank formally commenced the new arbitration proceedings in April 2026.

Chandrachud will serve on a three-member arbitral tribunal. Costa Rican arbitrator Dyalá Jiménez is the tribunal president, while Greek arbitrator and National University of Singapore professor Stavros Brekoulakis has been appointed by Oschadbank. The appointment is notable because Russia had reportedly approached Chandrachud last year in two other Ukraine-related investment treaty disputes, involving Wintershall Dea and Ukrenergo, but he declined to serve in those matters.