The creation of a separate international arbitration tribunal in Ukraine for resolving investment disputes can be difficult and ineffective; as an alternative, it is worth considering the creation of an arbitration tribunal at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Head of the Office of the National Investment Council under the President of Ukraine Olha Mahaletska has said.

"We have a law on chambers of commerce and industry. Perhaps it makes sense to improve it and make a new chamber to consider international investment disputes," she said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

According to Mahaletska, well-known international arbitration tribunals, such as Stockholm or LCIA, do not consider Ukraine as a country where they can go and establish their branch.

"They see it as a business model, and they need a corresponding business in Ukraine. We know that cases where legal costs start from $1-2 million are needed for companies that want to go to a foreign arbitration court – either in Stockholm or London," she said.

She added that in order to create a successful arbitration court, a developed judicial system with a high level of business confidence in courts is needed, since in arbitration practice, the courts serve as the necessary infrastructure on which arbitration is built.

"It is the courts that have the right to invalidate the arbitration clause, cancel the arbitral award, etc. The situation is not easy, so we are working hard to find a solution," Mahaletska said.

Commenting on the idea of creating a separate financial court in Ukraine, she expressed the opinion that "something new should not be done, but existing mechanisms should be improved." "Since even with a separate arbitration for residents of the financial hub, while the issue concerns financial relations, everything is clear, but if this issue concerns business or another resident, it will be a different court," the head of the Office of the National Investment Council said.

As reported, in January last year, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky came up with the idea of creating international arbitration for investors in Ukraine.

In addition, a project of the Ukrainian International Financial Center, which is being discussed in the government and the National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine, also envisages the creation of a separate arbitration of this kind.