Dispute Concerning the Detention of Ukrainian Naval Vessels and Servicemen (Ukraine v. the Russian Federation)
On 1 April 2019, Ukraine served on the Russian Federation a Notification and Statement of Claim under Annex VII to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) referring to a dispute concerning the detention of Ukrainian naval vessels and servicemen. The Permanent Court of Arbitration acts as Registry in this arbitration.
Case information
| Name(s) of Claimant(s) |
Ukraine (State) |
| Name(s) of Respondent(s) | The Russian Federation (State) |
| Names of Parties | - |
| Case number | 2019-28 |
| Administering institution | Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) |
| Case status | Pending |
| Type of case | Inter-state arbitration |
| Subject matter or economic sector | Law of the sea |
| Procedural rules | - Other - |
| Treaty or contract under which proceedings were commenced |
Multilateral treaty |
| Language of Proceeding |
English |
| Seat of Arbitration (by Country) | - N/A - |
| Arbitrator(s), Conciliator(s), Other Neutral(s) | Judge Gudmundur Eiriksson (Presiding Arbitrator as of 8 August 2024) Sir Christopher Greenwood, GBE, CMG, KC Judge James Kateka (as of 8 August 2024) Judge Kathy-Ann Brown (as of 28 October 2024) Mr. Nguyễn Hồng Thao (as of 6 February 2026) Professor Alexander N. Vylegzhanin (as of 30 May 2023 until 20 December 2025) Professor Joanna Mossop (as of 8 August 2024 until 13 August 2024) Professor Donald McRae (Member and Presiding Arbitrator until 6 March 2024) Judge Rüdiger Wolfrum (Member until 6 March 2024) Judge Vladimir Golitsyn (Member until 26 March 2023) |
| Representatives of the Claimant(s) |
Agent H.E. Anton Korynevych, Director, International Law Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (as of 10 April 2025) Ms. Oksana Zolotaryova, Director, International Law Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (as of 8 October 2021 - until 10 April 2025) H.E. Yevhenii Yenin, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (as of 21 May 2020 - until 8 October 2021) H.E. Ms. Olena Zerkal, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (until 21 May 2020)
Co-Agent H.E. Vsevelod Chentsov, Head of Mission of Ukraine to the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (as of 21 May 2020)
Counsel Ms. Oksana Zolotaryova, Director, International Law Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (until 8 October 2021) Ms. Marney L. Cheek, Covington & Burling LLP Mr. Jonathan Gimblett, Covington & Burling LLP Mr. David M. Zionts, Covington & Burling LLP Mr. Nikhil V. Gore, Covington & Burling LLP Professor Alfred H.A. Soons Professor Jean-Marc Thouvenin |
| Representatives of the Respondent(s) |
Agents Mr. Gennady Kuzmin, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation at the United Nations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (as of 17 February 2023) H.E. Mr. Vladimir Tarabrin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (as of 3 April 2024) H.E. Mr. Alexander Shulgin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (as of 17 February 2023 - until 13 March 2024) H.E. Mr. Dmitry Lobach, Ambassador-at-large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (until 17 February 2023)
Counsel Mr. Kirill Udovichenko, Monastyrsky, Zyuba, Stepanov & Partners (MZS) (as of 24 November 2022) Mr. Sergey Korolev, Monastyrsky, Zyuba, Stepanov & Partners (MZS) (as of 24 November 2022) Ms. Anna Kostina, Monastyrsky, Zyuba, Stepanov & Partners (MZS) (as of 24 November 2022) Mr. Mikhail Abramov, Monastyrsky, Zyuba, Stepanov & Partners (MZS)(as of 24 November 2022) Mr. Artem Lupandin, Monastyrsky, Zyuba, Stepanov & Partners (MZS) (as of 24 November 2022) Mr. Anatoly Balan, Monastyrsky, Zyuba, Stepanov & Partners (MZS) (as of 24 November 2022) Ms. Anastasia Taranova, Monastyrsky, Zyuba, Stepanov & Partners (MZS) (as of 24 November 2022) Ms. Irina Donskikh, Monastyrsky, Zyuba, Stepanov & Partners (MZS) (as of 24 November 2022) Ms. Ksenia Galkina, Second Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Bing Bing Jia, School of Law, Tsinghua University (as of 24 November 2022 - until 26 January 2024) Mr. Onur Sabri Durak, Peking University (as of 24 November 2022 - until 14 April 2023) Mr. Vasily Torkanovskiy, Ivanyan and Partners (until 1 October 2022) Mr. Andrey Gorlenko, Ivanyan and Partners (until 1 October 2022) Ms. Elena Burova, Ivanyan and Partners (until 1 October 2022) Professor Alain Pellet (until 17 March 2022) Professor Tullio Treves, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP (until 17 March 2022) Mr. Samuel Wordsworth, QC, Essex Court Chambers (until 17 March 2022) Ms. Amy Sander, Essex Court Chambers (until 17 March 2022) Mr. Sergey Usoskin (until 17 March 2022) Ms. Tessa Barsac (until 17 March 2022) Mr. Renato Raymundo Treves, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP (until 17 March 2022) |
| Representatives of the Parties | |
| Number of Arbitrators in case | 5 |
| Date of commencement of proceeding | 01 April 2019 |
| Date of issue of final award | - |
| Length of Proceedings | Pending |
| Additional notes | - |