Ukraine: Communication to the Secretary-General of the United Nations concerning the territorial application and implementation of the New York Convention in Ukraine

On 11 November 2015, the Secretary-General of the United Nations communicated a notification of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, with respect to the territorial application and implementation of the New York Convention in Ukraine. The notification states the following in relevant part:

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine represents its compliments to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, as the Depositary of the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 10 June 1958 [...] and has the honour to inform the following.

[...]

In this regard, Ukraine states that from 20 February 2014 and for the period of temporary occupation by the Russian Federation of a part of the territory of Ukraine – the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol – as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation committed against Ukraine and until the complete restoration of the constitutional law and order and effective control by Ukraine over such occupied territory, as well as over certain districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine, which are temporarily not under control of Ukraine as a result of the aggression of the Russian Federation, the application and implementation by Ukraine of the obligations under the above [Convention], as applied to the aforementioned occupied and uncontrolled territory of Ukraine, is limited and is not guaranteed.

Documents or requests made by the occupying authorities of the Russian Federation, its officials at any level in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and by the illegal authorities in certain districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine, which are temporarily not under control of Ukraine, are null and void and have no legal effect regardless of whether they are presented directly or indirectly through the authorities of the Russian Federation.

The provisions of the [Convention] regarding the possibility of direct communication or interaction do not apply to the territorial organs of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, as well as certain districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine, which are temporarily not under control of Ukraine. The procedure of the relevant communication is determined by the central authorities of Ukraine in Kyiv.

Therefore, the Ukrainian Side would be grateful if the Secretary-General of the United Nations, as the Depositary of the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 10 June 1958 [...] would circulate this notification on the specifics of the territorial application and implementation of the above [Convention] in Ukraine among all the Contracting States to [this Convention].”

Source: United Nations Treaty Collection at https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/CN/2015/CN.597.2015-Eng.pdf