The teleconference «Enforcement of Arbitration Awards in Russia and Ukraine: Dream or Reality?» was held on November 17, 2009. The sponsors of the event were The American Bar Association Section of International Law and the ABA Center for Continuing Legal Education.

Irina Nazarova, Managing Partner of ENGARDE, has participated in the teleconference and provided the audience with her insights on how a foreign company can enforce the arbitral award in Ukraine within the framework of local legislation and mitigate relevant risks.

The expert panel also included Steven Gee, QC of Stone Chambers (England), Maxim Kulkov  of Goltsblat BLP (Russian Federation), and was moderated by Gene Burd of Marks Sokolov & Burd, LLC (USA).

A growing number of Western companies find that the arduous task of obtaining an arbitration award against a Russian or Ukrainian company is complicated ten-fold by the enforcement and collection hurdles rarely seen in the Western hemisphere. While both Russia and Ukraine are parties to the New York Convention or Enforcement of Arbitration Awards, issues with the judicial system, convoluted currency control regulations, unwieldy bailiffs and execution service, administrative pressure, and even, in some cases, possible criminal proceedings make the enforcement far from trivial even in cases where respondents have sufficient assets. 

In addition to the exploring current state of the relevant Russian and Ukrainian laws, the conference program provides practical points and tales from the front lines from seasoned practitioners to assist counsel from the early stages of preparation and prosecution of arbitration claims as well as explores possible alternatives to the enforcement.

The program of the conference:

    * introduced counsel to the basic principles of enforcement of arbitration awards;
    * gave an overview of legal grounds for enforcement of arbitration awards in Russia and Ukraine;
    * provided guidelines on possible steps claimants might consider prior to and during the arbitration to alleviate the enforcement hurdles;
    * and provided practical points which can be used from the early stages of the arbitration or even before the arbitration is commenced.