Ukraine’s Investment Treaties: Investor–State Dispute Terms

Reference Updated November 1, 2026 Author: Anna Tsirat Download PDF

Whether a foreign investor can bring Ukraine to international arbitration, and on what terms, is settled by the bilateral investment promotion and protection treaty with the investor’s home state: it carries the state’s consent to arbitrate, names the forums (ICSID, ad hoc under the UNCITRAL Rules, others) and the negotiation period before a claim. Above the treaties sit the 1965 Washington Convention establishing ICSID, in force for Ukraine since 07.07.2000, and the Energy Charter Treaty for energy investments.

This page collects every investment protection treaty of Ukraine whose text is published by the Verkhovna Rada, with dates of signature and entry into force, the ratification act, the investor–state dispute terms taken from the treaty articles, and the period for which the treaty survives for existing investments after termination. Dispute terms are drawn from the Ukrainian texts; where a treaty mentions an arbitral institution only as an appointing authority, this is stated separately.

Before relying on a treaty

• The treaty with Russia is terminated but still protects older investments. The 1998 treaty ceased to apply on 27.01.2025 (Law No. 3329-IX); under its Art. 14 the provisions continue to apply to investments made before termination for ten years. The treaties with Belarus (1995) and Iran (1996) are still shown as in force in the Verkhovna Rada records.
• ICSID is a forum, not a cause of action. Ukraine’s participation in the Washington Convention does not by itself open arbitration: under its preamble no state is bound to submit any particular dispute to arbitration “by the mere fact of its ratification” without its consent, and Art. 25(1) requires written consent of the parties and a claimant who is a national of another Contracting State. Ukraine’s consent comes from the dispute clause of a bilateral treaty in force or from Art. 26 of the Energy Charter Treaty; the investment must fall within the treaty definition, and the investor must meet the treaty’s preconditions: negotiation period, choice of forum, time limits.
• The ICAC at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce can now hear investor–state disputes. Law No. 4856-IX (in force since 21.05.2026) amended the Law on International Commercial Arbitration and the ICAC Regulations: international commercial arbitration now also hears disputes between an investor (or another participant in investment activity) and a state (its bodies and institutions) or an intergovernmental organisation in connection with investment activity in Ukraine or another state, where referred under an international treaty, a law, another regulatory act or an agreement of the parties. The amendments also cover arbitration agreements concluded earlier (Section II, para. 2), and the Cabinet of Ministers is instructed to provide for the ICAC as one of the options for investor–state dispute settlement in new and revised investment treaties and free trade agreements (Section II, para. 3). Among the treaties in force, the treaty with Croatia as amended by the 2016 Protocol already refers to arbitration in the national commercial arbitral institutions of the Contracting Parties (Art. 8(2)(b)), and the treaty with Mongolia to the arbitral court of the respondent state empowered to hear such disputes (Art. 8). In our view, under the other treaties the ICAC becomes a forum only by separate written consent of the investor and the state.
• Not every treaty consents to international arbitration. The 1992 treaty with China allows arbitration only on the amount of compensation for requisition; the 1994 treaty with Bulgaria only on compensation and transfers; the 2003 treaty with the UAE only with the written consent of both disputing parties; the treaty with Belarus only after domestic judicial procedures; the 1993 treaty with Poland, at the investor’s request, only for expropriation and transfer disputes. The treaties with Armenia, Cuba, Libya, Mongolia and Egypt do not mention ICSID at all.
• The negotiation period is mostly six months, three months under the treaties with Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Chile, Finland and the United Kingdom. Several treaties restrict the choice: under those with Argentina, Chile, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye (2017) the choice of forum is final (fork in the road), and the treaties with Canada and the OPEC Fund carry a three-year limitation period.
• After termination a treaty survives for ten, fifteen or twenty years for investments made before termination: twenty with Germany, France, Finland 2004, Kuwait and Oman; fifteen with Bulgaria, China, India, the Netherlands, Singapore, Chile and the United Kingdom; five with Italy. The treaty with Belarus has no fixed period: after termination it applies to investments contracted but not performed while it was in force (Art. 12(4)). Each cell gives the article containing the rule.
• Older treaties have been replaced. With Israel the 2010 treaty applies (the 1994 one lapsed on 20.11.2012), with Slovakia the 2007 treaty (the 1994 one was terminated on 20.08.2009), with Finland the 2004 treaty, with Croatia the 1997 treaty as amended by the 2016 Protocol. The new 2017 treaty with Türkiye was ratified by Law No. 2528-VIII, but the Verkhovna Rada record shows no entry-into-force date and the 1996 treaty is shown as in force; in our view, the 1996 treaty should be relied on until an MFA notice appears.
• Two treaties are still shown in force in the Verkhovna Rada records although they no longer apply. India terminated the 2001 treaty with effect from 22.03.2017 (Indian Department of Economic Affairs list, UNCTAD); under Art. 15(2) it protects investments made before termination until 22.03.2032. The 1995 treaty with Italy ran for ten years plus one further five-year period (Art. 14(1)) and expired on 12.09.2012 (UNCTAD); protection of existing investments under Art. 14(2) ended on 12.09.2017.
• Five treaties are ratified but not confirmed in force. The treaties with Gambia, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Yemen and the new 2017 treaty with Türkiye were ratified by Ukraine, but the records give no entry-into-force date and UNCTAD lists them as signed only. The 2006 NBU letter gives 19.01.2006 for Gambia, but that is Ukraine’s ratification date. In our view, these treaties should not be relied on as in force until the Ministry of Justice or the MFA confirms it.
• There is no bilateral treaty in force with several EU states — Romania, Cyprus, Ireland, Malta; their investors rely on the Association Agreement, the Energy Charter Treaty (energy only) and domestic law. The Association Agreement has no investor–state dispute mechanism.
• Energy Charter Treaty: who has left. Ukraine remains a party to the Treaty. The EU and Euratom withdrew with effect from 28 June 2025; the United Kingdom and ten EU states have also withdrawn — Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain; seventeen EU states, including Romania, Cyprus, Ireland and Malta, remain parties (Energy Charter Secretariat list). After withdrawal the Treaty continues to apply for twenty years to investments existing on the date the withdrawal took effect (Art. 47(3)), so in a dispute with such a state the dates of the investment and of the withdrawal are decisive. The Energy Charter Conference adopted amendments modernising the Treaty on 3 December 2024; they enter into force after ratification by three quarters of the parties (Art. 42(4)). Ukraine took part in the negotiations (Presidential Order No. 555/2021-рп), but the Verkhovna Rada site holds no act accepting the amendments.

Bilateral investment promotion and protection treaties

Dates follow the Verkhovna Rada document records; for 1990s treaties without a date on record, the National Bank letter of 19.08.2006 (Annex 2). Dispute terms follow the treaty articles (article numbers in the cells). Where neither the record nor the NBU letter gives a date, the date is taken from the UNCTAD database; for nine treaties (Chile, China, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Lithuania, Moldova) the record and UNCTAD differ by days or weeks — the record date is given. Entries: 77, in force 65, terminated or replaced 7, entry into force not confirmed 5. Sorted by the Ukrainian name of the state.

• Bilateral treaties (77)
• Multilateral instruments (4)
• What is missing

Multilateral instruments

What is missing

• UN Convention on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration (Mauritius, 2014): extends the UNCITRAL Transparency Rules to older treaties; 25 signatories, 10 parties including the EU, Canada and Switzerland; Ukraine has not signed — source
• No treaty in force with Romania or Kyrgyzstan: the treaties were signed on 23.02.1995 and 23.02.1993 but never entered into force, and their texts are not on the Verkhovna Rada site — source
• No treaty, signed or in force, with Cyprus, Norway, Ireland, Malta, Montenegro, Brazil, Mexico, Australia or South Africa — neither in the UNCTAD list (78 treaties as of 01.11.2026) nor on the Verkhovna Rada site; with Mexico only a negotiating delegation was formed in 2016 — source
• With Serbia, the 2001 treaty with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia lapsed on 09.10.2019 according to the MFA letter, although UNCTAD still lists it as in force; there is no new treaty — source
• The 2014 EU–Ukraine Association Agreement contains establishment and capital-movement provisions (Chapters 6–7 of Title IV) but no investor–state dispute mechanism — source
• For investments from EU states without a bilateral treaty (Ireland, Malta, Cyprus, Romania) protection is limited to the Association Agreement, the Energy Charter Treaty (energy) and domestic law

How we can help

We assess whether a treaty covers a given investment and how to structure ownership so that it does; we prepare notices of dispute and act for investors in negotiations and arbitration under the treaties and the Energy Charter Treaty. See our Investing in Ukraine and Investment Protection practice pages.

If you know of a treaty or a change that is not yet listed, let us know and we will update the page.

Related materials

• International Arbitration in Ukraine and ICAC: Guide
• International Arbitration vs. Court: How to Choose the Forum for a Ukrainian Contract
• Recognition and Enforcement of Arbitral Awards in Ukraine: The Procedure
• Practice: Investment Protection in Ukraine
• Reference: Ukraine’s Private International Law Conventions
• Reference: Ukraine’s Treaties on Legal Assistance and Recognition of Judgments

This page is not legal advice. Information as of October 31, 2026; sources are the treaty texts and ratification laws published by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the National Bank letter No. 13-214/3031-8760 of 19.08.2006, the ICSID/3 list of 17.07.2026 and the Energy Charter Secretariat page.