Ukraine law day 2026

About the event

Building on the success of Ukraine law day in 2025 this conference provides a dedicated forum for dialogue and cooperation between the UK and Ukrainian legal professionals. The day will bring together legal practitioners, academics, judges and policymakers from Ukraine and the UK to examine key areas of legal cooperation between the countries.

This year we’ll focus on accountability for war crimes, civil and international law mechanisms for addressing war-related losses, disputes in the defence sector, and the legal framework supporting the rebuilding of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure amidst ongoing attacks.

The conference will be followed by a networking reception, providing an opportunity to continue discussions and strengthen your professional connections. 

Event Programme

9.00am: Registration

9.30am: Opening remarks 

10am to 11am: Accountability for war crimes: international, Ukrainian and English law and practice

Moderator: David Josse KC
Speakers: Andrew Cayley KC, Kirsty Brimelow KC and Baroness Prentis KC

This session will examine both the established and new legal mechanisms for ensuring effective accountability for war crimes, as well as practical tips for achieving justice for victims in the circumstances of the ongoing war.

Our panel will explore:

• The role of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine – a new international body being established through the Council of Europe following the bilateral agreement signed by Ukraine and the Council of Europe on 25 June 2025 - within the wider framework of international criminal law and potential challenges faced by this body
• The ongoing investigations and jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court
• The work of the Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s office and domestic courts in investigating and prosecuting war crimes
• The role of the English prosecution authorities and national courts in targeting grave international crimes under the principle of universal jurisdiction
• Best practices in evidence gathering, preservation and verification in conflict setting
• Existing and future cooperation between national and international agencies and practitioners

11am to 11.30am: Break

11.30am to 12.30pm: Domestic and international civil law mechanisms for addressing war-related losses

Moderator: Tim Otty KC
Speakers: Tetyana Nesterchuk and Oleh Malinevskiy

As of early 2026, the World Bank estimates the total cost of reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine over the next decade to have risen to c. $588 billion. Physical damage to the infrastructure alone, particularly in the energy, housing and agriculture sectors, is over $150 billion. There is no doubt that Ukraine will see the largest reconstruction effort in Europe since WWII. But who will fund it?  

Our panel will explore:

• Ukraine’s efforts in the creation of the international compensation mechanism for war losses and the next steps after the EU and 34 states signed the Convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine on 16 December 2025, including the establishment and funding of the third step of the mechanism – namely a compensation fund
• The implications of the European Court of Human Rights decision in Ukraine and the Netherlands v Russia issued in July 2025
• The routes and chances of success in national (Ukrainian and English) courts and international arbitral tribunals, as well as prospects of successful enforcement
• Successful sanctions enforcement and implications for victims

12.30pm to 2pm: Networking lunch

2pm to 3pm: Disputes in the Defence sector: legal and strategic components

Moderator: Olena Perepelynska
Speakers: Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi, Eduard Fesko, Oleg Shaulko and Olexander Droug.

Following four years of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has seen a marked rise in disputes in the defence sector, which encompass complex legal issues and sensitive factual implications.

Our panel will explore:

• The types of legal issues faced by the defence sector and the need for targeted specialist advice
• The best forum for resolving defence-sector disputes: arbitration v litigation
• The hot issues in defence-sector arbitration

3pm to 3.30pm: Break

3.30pm to 4.30pm: Rebuilding Ukraine’s energy: geopolitics, finance, regulation and disputes

Moderator: Maksym Kodunov
Speakers: Bondarchuk Ivan, Svitlana Teush, Lord Charles Banner KC, Professor Alan Riley and a EBRD representative (TBC).

Following the destruction of nearly 90% of Ukraine’s electric power generation infrastructure, energy transition in post-war Ukraine is both desirable and inevitable. The UK-Ukraine 100-year Partnership Agreement envisages collaboration on energy based on 'principles of sustainability and clean transition'. Moreover, given the country’s reliance on Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) funding and MDBs’ strong preference for ESG-aligned projects, the new energy infrastructure for Ukraine is likely to be heavily focused on renewables.

Our panel will explore:

• The geopolitical importance of Ukraine’s focus on renewable energy sources
• The future of Ukraine’s energy markets and the UK’s role in rebuilding Ukraine’s infrastructure
• The role of English and Ukrainian laws in construction and project finance: what model contracts are likely to be used (FIDIC (International Federation of Consulting Engineers) vs NEC Contracts) and the risks and benefits of such standard contracts
• Lessons from English law in regulatory issues, including planning and land development, as well as tariffs, incentives, grid connection, market rules etc.
• Protection of investments and cross-border energy disputes, including interaction between commercial remedies and investment treaty protections

4:30pm to 5pm: Closing remarks

5pm to 7pm: Networking drinks reception

Speakers

Olexander Droug

Sayenko Kharenko, Kyiv.

Olexander Droug is a partner at Sayenko Kharenko, heading the firm’s arbitration and cross-border litigation practice. He has significant experience in both commercial and investment treaty arbitration, as well as complex cross-border court proceedings, in various sectors. Olexander is an ICC Court Member for Ukraine and a board member of the Ukrainian Arbitration Association.

Eduard Fesko

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine

Eduard Fesko has served in the diplomatic service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the government of Ukraine for over 20 years.

Since 2022, he has been the Minister-Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Ukraine in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, London, and has also served as Chargé d’affaires for a period in 2023-2024. Previous appointments have included: Deputy Director General at the Political Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kyiv; Counsellor and Political Coordinator at the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations in New York; First Secretary and Head of the OSCE Section of the Department of International Organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Second and Third Secretary at the Embassy of Ukraine in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Amman.

He holds an MA in International Policy Studies from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California. 

Tim Otty KC

Blackstone Chambers, London.

In recent years, Tim’s public international law work has focused on investor-state arbitration, economic sanctions, and all aspects of state immunity. He has acted as Counsel in a number of multi-billion-dollar State arbitration claims relating to the energy and mining sectors, and accepts arbitral appointments. He also has particular and long-established expertise in state and diplomatic immunity, human rights, humanitarian law and constitutional law. 

Since 1996, Tim has appeared in more than 60 cases before the European Court of Human Rights and three cases before the US Supreme Court. He has particular experience of cases involving internal conflict and secession claims, having acted in cases concerning the Kurdish conflict in South East Turkey, the Chechen conflict in the Russian Federation, and the Russian incursion into South Ossetia. He is currently Lead Counsel for Ukraine in Ukraine v Russia, the ECHR inter-state proceedings relating to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In 2023, he won the Lawyer magazine’s Barrister of the Year award. 

On 26 February 2026, Tim was awarded the Presidential Order of Merit by President Zelensky of Ukraine for his leadership of Ukraine’s team in its interstate case against Russia relating to Russia’s February 2022 invasion.

Tim is speaking on the session Domestic and international civil law mechanisms for addressing war-related losses.

Olena Perepelynska

Imacta Law, Kyiv.

Dr Olena Perepelynska is Partner and Head of International Arbitration at Imacta Law, Kyiv, Ukraine. With over 20 years of experience, she has acted in over 240 arbitrations across CEE and Central Asia as an arbitrator, counsel, and legal expert. She served as a Member of the ICC Court (2018–2024) and TIAC Court (2019–2022). Olena is Liaison Officer of the IBA Arbitration Committee’s European Regional Forum, Chair of the ADR Committee of the Ukrainian National Bar Association, Board Member of UAA, TAA, and ArbCEE, Fellow of CIArb.

Olena is the moderator on the session Disputes in the Defence sector: legal and strategic components.

Oleg Shaulko

Kennedys, London.

Oleg Shaulko is a partner and the head of the arbitration practice at Kennedys in London. His practice spans sectors including oil and gas, commodities, financial services and digital assets, alongside advising on arbitration-related court proceedings. He also leads the Ukrainian desk at the firm and is a founding member of SPILKA.

 

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