Serhii Uvarov succeeds Olena Perepelynska as President of the Ukrainian Arbitration Association

Partner and co-head of Cross-Border Litigation practice at INTEGRITES Serhii Uvarov has been elected uncontested as new President of the Ukrainian Arbitration Association (UAA). Having served as Secretary General of the Association since 2017, Serhii Uvarov assumes leadership from Olena Perepelynska, who stepped down after completing two consecutive terms, totalling eight years in her role as UAA President.

 “It’s been great 8 years marked by a number of accomplishments in terms of advancing Ukraine’s arbitration laws, improving the procedure of award enforcement and filing the first ever amicus briefs on arbitration-related cases in Ukraine, promoting it as an arbitration-friendly jurisdiction. I’m proud of what we’ve achieved with the UAA team, despite the challenges put in place by the pandemic and Russia’s full-scale invasion. I believe we’ve managed to raise the profile of UAA to the arbitration association which can boast of being one of the most active on the regional scale. I’m sure Serhii will make a great leader, bringing on his energy and dedication”, Perepelynska comments.

Report on Olena’s activities as UAA President and Board member can be accessed on the UAA website.

Serhii Uvarov will oversee the election of a new Board and the appointment of his successor in the coming weeks. 

 “I have no doubt that the UAA will continue playing a critical role in the development and popularisation of arbitration in Ukraine and beyond, serving as a hub for knowledge sharing and cooperation between practitioners, arbitrators, arbitral institutions, and state authorities. Taking on the leadership, I am fully committed to further advance and strengthen the foundation laid by Olena Perepelynska and increase the impact of the UAA both on the domestic and international arenas”, Uvarov stated.

Recommended by Lexology Index: Arbitration 2025 and recognised as Next Generation Partner in Dispute Resolution by The Legal 500, Serhii Uvarov is known for his work on high-profile cases, such as the EUR 527 million investment treaty claim of Ukrenergo against Russia over the expropriation of Crimean assets. Serhii has been among lead partners in the complex high-value dispute between one of the world’s largest food corporations and its Ukrainian counterparty, which ultimately resulted in the successful recognition of the LCIA award in Ukraine for the amount deemed one of the largest ever recognised in Ukraine. This project got shortlisted for The Lawyer European Awards 2024 in the European Litigation Team of the Year category. Serhii also acted for the Ukrainian state-owned operator of the world’s longest ammonia pipeline in a set of Kyiv-seated arbitrations against a Russian chemicals group.

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* Founded in 2012, the Ukrainian Arbitration Association is a non-profit professional organisation that brings together over 70 arbitration practitioners, regardless of the jurisdiction, to join efforts in promoting Ukraine as a place for international arbitration and in fostering cooperation and exchange of experience between practitioners from around the world.