Natalia Prisekina has been appointed head of the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation in Vladivostok

Natalia Prisekina, Partner and Head of the Far East Office of Pepeliaev Group, has been appointed head of the Vladivostok Division of the International Commercial Arbitration Court (“ICAC”) at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation.

With a history dating back almost 90 years, ICAC is one of the world's most important and authoritative commercial arbitration centres. Its division in Vladivostok was opened in September 2019.

The International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation grants those involved in business activities an opportunity to have their disputes considered in a professional and impartial way, which increases the efficiency of business dealings. 

In 2017, further to a reform of legislation on commercial arbitration, ICAC obtained the right to consider not only international disputes, but also domestic disputes with Russian entities and individual entrepreneurs involved, and to form divisions away from of its headquarters. 

The following are the main advantages of domestic disputes being resolved by ICAC: 

Arbitrators 

• The parties may choose the arbitrators for a case, to whom they entrust the resolution of the dispute. One arbitrator may be chosen by the claimant, and another one may be chosen by the respondent, whereas the presiding arbitrator is appointed by the ICAC Nominations Committee out of a recommended list of arbitrators. 
• Both in the cases envisaged by ICAC’s Rules of the arbitration process for internal disputes and by agreement of the parties, a dispute may be considered by a sole arbitrator. 
• ICAC’s recommended list of arbitrators for internal disputes includes Russia’s leading legal experts: practising lawyers, scholars, retired judges, as well as experts from the regions in which ICAC is represented by its divisions. 
• The list of arbitrators is open, and the parties may choose as an arbitrator a person who is not included in ICAC’s recommended list of arbitrators but meets the general criteria stipulated by legislation. 

Levies 

• The amounts of arbitration fees for ICAC’s internal arbitration procedures is comparable to the state duties in state commercial courts. 
• The minimum amount of the fee payable in ICAC proceedings is RUB 18,000. 

Timeframes 

• As a rule, a dispute is resolved within 60 days at the most, starting from the date when the arbitral tribunal was formed or when a sole arbitrator was chosen or appointed. 
• The dates of the hearings may be agreed with the parties. 

Categories of disputes 

• International commercial, internal, corporate and sport-related disputes may be referred to ICAC by agreement of the parties. 
• ICAC has the right to consider disputes arising out of agreements entered into in accordance with Federal Law No. 223-FZ “On the procurement of goods, work or services by certain types of legal entities” dated 18 July 2011. 

Consideration procedure 

• ICAC’s Rules of the arbitration process for internal disputes consist of only 40 paragraphs and provide for a relatively simple and concise procedure which, at the same time, corresponds to global standards. 
• Every dispute is considered in a single instance. 
• ICAC’s rules allow for exchanging documents in electronic form within an arbitration procedure. 
• By agreement of the parties, a dispute may be resolved without face-to-face proceedings, based on written materials. 

Place of arbitration 

• By agreement of the parties, a dispute may be considered in Moscow, or at the location of a division of ICAC, or at any other place. 

Confidentiality 

• The arbitration proceedings are confidential; the hearing takes place in a closed sitting unless the parties have agreed otherwise. 

Decision of the arbitral tribunal and its enforcement 

• At the request of the parties, the arbitral tribunal may make a decision on the terms and conditions agreed by the parties. 
• The decision of the arbitral tribunal is binding starting from the date when it was awarded, and is enforced by the parties voluntarily. 
• If a decision of the arbitral tribunal is not enforced voluntarily, a party may address a state court with a motion to have a writ of execution issued to enforce the decision of the arbitral tribunal. Such motion is considered within one month after it has been filed with the court. 

The decisions of the International Commercial Arbitration Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation in relation to international commercial disputes are successfully recognised and enforced in accordance with the provisions of the New York 1958 Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (168 countries are parties to the Convention).

Natalia Prisekina has vast experience in cross-border commercial and corporate transactions in maritime, transportation and employment law, as well as in civil and international litigation; she has a track record in legal professional practice of more than 25 years. Natalia has personally participated in providing legal support for major transactions in the Far East of Russia. She is also the honorary consul of the Republic of Chile in Vladivostok. Her consular jurisdiction extends to the Primorye, Kamchatka and Khabarovsk Territories, as well as to the Sakhalin and Amur Regions.

Natalia is a Professor in the International Public and Private Law Department in the Far Eastern State University’s School of Law; she is a deputy chairman of the Council of the Primorye regional office of the All-Russian Non-governmental Organisation Association of Lawyers of Russia for international cooperation, and an expert of the Business Ombudsman in the Primorye Territory.