Former Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has been appointed by Russia to serve as one of three arbitrators in an international investment dispute brought by Ukrainian state-owned bank Oschadbank, according to reports citing the Global Arbitration Review.

The proceedings relate to financial losses and business disruption that Oschadbank says it suffered following Russia's military operations in Ukraine after the full-scale invasion in 2022.

The claim concerns the bank's assets and operations in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, with the value of the dispute understood to run into hundreds of millions of dollars.

Who will hear the case?

The arbitration panel will consist of three members.

Costa Rican arbitrator Dyala Jimenez, a former trade minister, has been selected as the tribunal's president after being jointly agreed upon by Russia and Oschadbank.

Stavros Brekoulakis, a Greek arbitrator and professor at the National University of Singapore, has been nominated by Oschadbank.

Russia has selected Justice DY Chandrachud, who served as India's Chief Justice until his retirement in November 2024, as its nominee on the tribunal.

The proceedings are being conducted under the 1998 bilateral investment treaty between Russia and Ukraine.

How did the arbitration begin?

Oschadbank moved towards arbitration after Russia allegedly did not respond to a formal notice of dispute sent by the Ukrainian bank in July 2025.

The bank says the conflict resulted in significant losses to its assets and prevented it from continuing normal banking operations in several Ukrainian territories.

Oschadbank has been documenting the losses it says it incurred after the start of the full-scale war as part of its efforts to seek compensation.

Chandrachud had earlier declined Russia-related appointments

The latest appointment is notable because Chandrachud had previously been approached by Russia for roles in other treaty disputes.

Those cases reportedly involved Wintershall Dea, an oil and gas company, and Ukrenergo, Ukraine's state-owned electricity transmission operator.

The approaches were made around the time the Permanent Court of Arbitration had designated Chandrachud as an appointing authority in the Wintershall proceedings.

After disclosing the communications, Chandrachud subsequently stepped away from that role.

Oschadbank's earlier Crimea arbitration

The current proceedings are separate from another case brought by Oschadbank concerning assets that it says were expropriated following Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea.

In that earlier arbitration, the Ukrainian bank was awarded approximately $1.1 billion, with the amount later increasing after interest was added.

The latest claim relates specifically to losses arising after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 and covers the bank's interests in four Ukrainian regions.

Oschadbank has said that it is maintaining records of losses sustained since 2022 in preparation for its compensation claim.

The appointment of Chandrachud places the former Indian chief justice in a high-profile international arbitration involving two countries at the centre of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.