A claim for the invalidity of an arbitration clause is no longer a claim in its own right in Ukraine

Insights and Analysis

A claim for the invalidity of an arbitration clause is no longer a claim in its own right in Ukraine

06 November 2024

On August 30, 2024, the Supreme Court of Ukraine ruled that a claim for the invalidation of an arbitration clause cannot be treated as an independent claim. In the case of Stoyanova I.S. Farm v Nor-Est Agro, it was determined that if this is the only claim presented, Ukrainian courts must dismiss it. This clarification aims to prevent bad faith parties from avoiding valid arbitral awards by exploiting legal ambiguities.

The court emphasized that arbitration clauses are procedural agreements tied to the main contract and cannot stand alone in legal proceedings. This landmark decision reinforces the integrity of arbitration processes in Ukraine.

Read here.