UKRAINE Law and Practice Contributed by: Olena Perepelynska, Krystyna Khripkova, Nadiya Mykiyevych and Anna Kozyrieva, IMPACTA LAW
ment of claim and the respondent must submit its defence within the time limits agreed by the parties or determined by the tribunal. Unless otherwise agreed, the parties may amend their claims and defences during the proceedings. Counter-claims are generally permitted. The tribunal may decide whether to hold an oral hear - ing or proceed on a documents-only basis. However, a hearing must be held if requested by a party, unless the parties have agreed otherwise. The parties must receive advance notice of hearings. All materials sub - mitted to the tribunal by any party must be disclosed to the opposing party and any expert reports or evi - dentiary documents on which the tribunal intends to rely in its award must equally be made available to both parties. The ICA Law also sets out the consequences of pro - cedural defaults. Failure by the claimant to submit its claim may result in termination of the proceedings. In contrast, failure by the respondent to submit a defence does not amount to an admission of liability. The tribunal may continue the proceedings if a party fails to attend a hearing or produce evidence and may draw adverse inferences from a party’s failure to com - ply with evidentiary requests. 7.3 Powers and Duties of Arbitrators The ICA Law grants arbitrators broad powers to con - duct the proceedings. At the same time, arbitrators are subject to several key duties. They must act inde - pendently and impartially, disclose potential conflicts of interest, treat the parties equally and ensure that each party is given a full opportunity to present its case. 7.4 Legal Representatives No specific qualifications are required for legal repre - sentatives appearing in international arbitration seated in Ukraine. Parties are generally free to appoint repre - sentatives of their choice, including foreign-qualified lawyers and there is no requirement that counsel be admitted to the Ukrainian Bar. At the same time, it differs from proceedings before Ukrainian courts in arbitration-related matters, where representation as counsel in principle requires admission to the Ukrain - ian Bar.
Where counsel is a member of the Ukrainian Bar, they remain subject to the applicable professional and ethi - cal rules governing Ukrainian attorneys. 8. Evidence 8.1 Collection and Submission of Evidence Ukrainian arbitration legislation does not establish detailed rules governing the collection and submission of evidence. Subject to the parties’ agreement, these matters are determined by the arbitral tribunal having regard to the applicable arbitration rules. Under Article 19 (2) of the ICA Law, in the absence of the parties’ agreement, the arbitral tribunal may, subject to the provisions of this Law, conduct the arbi - tration in such manner as it considers appropriate, including any evidentiary matters. According to Article 23 (1) of the ICA Law, the parties may submit documentary evidence along with their written submissions or refer to evidence to be pro - duced subsequently, while the timing of submitting such evidence is ultimately governed by: • the parties’ agreement; • the applicable arbitration rules; and • the procedural directions of the tribunal. All documentary evidence and other information sub - mitted by one party must be communicated to the other party. The same applies to expert reports and any evidentiary materials that the arbitral tribunal may rely on in reaching its decision (Article 24 (3) of the ICA Law). The tribunal may also require that documentary evi - dence be accompanied by translations into the lan - guage of the arbitration where appropriate (Article 22 (2) of the ICA Law). Additionally, Article 26 (2) of the ICA Law contains spe - cific provisions on tribunal-appointed experts. Unless otherwise agreed by the parties, an expert who has submitted a written or oral report may be required to attend the hearing, either at the request of a party or where the arbitral tribunal considers it necessary. The
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