Estonia - Ukraine BIT (1995)

The Government of the Republic of Estonia and the Government of Ukraine, hereinafter referred to as the "Contracting Parties”;

Desiring to intensify economic co-operation to the mutual benefit of both States;

Intending to create and maintain favourable conditions for investments of investors of one State in the territory of the other State;

Conscious that the promotion and reciprocal protection of investments, according to the present Agreement, stimulates the business initiatives in this field;

Have agreed as follows:

For the purposes of this Agreement:

The term "investment” shall comprise every kind of asset invested in connection with economic activities by an investor of one Contracting Party in the territory of the other Contracting Party in accordance with the law and regulations of the latter and shall include, in particular, though not exclusively:

The term "investor" shall mean any natural or legal person who invests in the territory of the other Contracting Party.

The term "returns" shall mean amounts yielded by an investment and in particular, though not exclusively, includes profits, interests, capital gains, shares, dividends, royalties or fees.

The term "territory" shall mean in respect of each Contracting Party the territory under its sovereignty and the sea and submarine areas over which the Contracting Party exercises, in conformity with international law, sovereignty, sovereign rights or jurisdiction.

Promotion and Protection of Investments

Each Contracting Party shall encourage and create favourable conditions in its territory for investments of investors of the other Contracting Party and shall admit such investments in accordance with its laws and regulations.

Investments of investors of either Contracting Party shall at all times be accorded fair and equitable treatment and shall enjoy full protection and security in the territory of the other Contracting Party.

National and Most Favoured Nation Treatment

Each Contracting Party shall in its territory accord to investments and returns of investors of the other Contracting Party treatment which is fair and equitable and not less favourable than that which it accords to investments and returns of its own investors or to investments and returns of investors of any third state whichever is more favourable.

Each Contracting Party shall in its territory accord to investors of the other Contracting Party, as regards management, maintenance, use, enjoyment or disposal of their investment, treatment which is fair and equitable and not less favourable than that which it accords to its own investors or of any third State, whichever is more favourable.

The provisions of paragraph 1 and 2 of this Article shall not be construed so as to oblige one Contracting Party to extend to the investors of the other the benefit of any treatment, preference or privilege which may be extended by the former Contracting Party by virtue of:

When investments by investors of either Contracting Party suffer losses owing to war, armed conflict, a state of national emergency, revolt, insurrection, riot, or other similar events in the territory of the other Contracting Party, they shall be accorded by the latter Contracting Party treatment, as regards restitution, indemnification, compensation or other settlement, not less favourable than that which the latter Contracting Party accords to its own investors or to investors of any third State.

Without prejudice to paragraph 1 of this Article, investors of one Contracting Party who in any of the events referred to in that paragraph suffer losses in the territory of the other Contracting Party resulting from:

Investments of investors of either Contracting Party shall not be nationalized, expropriated or subjected to measures having effect equivalent to nationalization or expropriation (hereinafter referred to as "expropriation") in the territory of the other Contracting Party except for a public purpose. The expropriation shall be carried out under due process of law, on a non-discriminatory basis and shall be accompanied by provisions for the payment of prompt, adequate and effective compensation. Such compensation shall amount to the market value of the investment expropriated immediately before expropriation or before the impending expropriation became public knowledge. The compensation shall include interest calculated on the LIBOR basis from the date of expropriation, shall be made without delay, be effectively realizable and be freely transferable in a freely convertible currency.

The investor affected shall have a right, under the law of the Contracting Party making the expropriation, to prompt review, by a juridical or other independent authority of that Contracting Party, of his or its case and of the valuation of his or its investment in accordance with the principles set out in this Article.

The provisions of paragraph 1 of this article shall also apply where a Contracting Party expropriates the assets of a company which is incorporated or constituted under the law in force in any part of its own territory, and in which investors of the other Contracting Party own shares.

Each Contracting Party shall, in respect of investments, guarantee to investors of the other Contracting Party all the rights and benefits regarding the unrestricted transfer of their investments and returns which were in force on the day the current investment was implemented; provided, however, that the investor has complied with all his fiscal obligations and has fulfilled all the requirements of the exchange regulations. Transfers shall be made in a freely convertible currency, without any restriction and undue delay. Such transfers shall include in particular, though not exclusively:

For the purpose of this Agreement, exchange rates shall be the prevailing commercial rates effective for the current transactions at the date of transfer, unless otherwise agreed.

If a Contracting Party or its designated agency makes payment to its own investors under a guarantee it has accorded in respect of an investment in the territory of the other Contracting Party, the latter Contracting Party shall recognize:

The subrogated rights or claims shall not exceed the original rights or claims of the investor.

Any dispute which may arise between an investor of one Contracting Party and the other Contracting Party in connection with an investment on the territory of that other Contracting Party shall be subject to negotiations between the parties in dispute.

If any dispute between an investor of one Contracting Party and the other Contracting Party can not be thus settled within a period of six months, the investor shall be entitled to submit the case either to:

Disputes between the Contracting Parties concerning the interpretation or application of this Agreement shall, if possible, be settled through the diplomatic channels.

If the dispute cannot be thus settled within six month, it shall upon the request of either Contracting Party, be submitted to an Arbitral Tribunal in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

The Arbitral Tribunal shall be constituted for each individual case in the following way. Within two month of the receipt of the request for arbitration, each Contracting Party shall appoint one member of the Tribunal. These two members shall then select a national of a third State who on approval of the two Contracting Parties shall be appointed Chairman of the Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as the "Chairman"). The Chairman shall be appointed within three months from the date of appointment of the other two members.

If within the periods specified in paragraph 3 of this Article the necessary appointments have not been made, a request may be made to the President of the International Court of Justice to make the appointments. If he happens to be a national of either Contracting Party, or if he is otherwise prevented from discharging the said function, the Vice-President shall be invited to make the appointments. If the Vice-President also happens to be a national of either Contracting Party or is prevented from discharging the said function, the member of the International Court of Justice next in seniority who is not a national of either Contracting Party shall be invited to make the appointments.

The Arbitral Tribunal shall reach its decision by a majority of votes. Such decision shall be binding on both Contracting Parties. Each Contracting Party shall bear the cost of its own member of the tribunal and of its representation in the arbitral proceedings; the cost of the Chairman and the remaining costs shall be borne in equal parts by the both Contracting Parties. The Arbitral Tribunal may, however, in its decision direct that a higher proportion of costs shall be borne by one of the two Contracting Parties, and this award shall be binding on both Contracting Parties. The Arbitral Tribunal shall determine its own procedure.

Where a matter is governed simultaneously both by this Agreement and by another international agreement to which both Contracting Parties are parties, nothing in this Agreement shall prevent either Contracting Party or any of its investors who own investments in the territory of the other Contracting Party from taking advantage of whichever rules are more favourable to his case.

If this treatment to be accorded by one Contracting Party to investors of the other Contracting Party in accordance with its laws and regulations or other specific provisions of contracts is more favourable than that accorded by the Agreement, the more favourable shall be accorded.

The provisions of this Agreement shall apply to future investments made by investors of one Contracting Party in the territory of the other Contracting Party and shall not apply to any dispute concerning an investment which arose or any claim concerning an investment which was made before this Agreement entry into force.

Each of the Contracting Parties shall notify the other in writing of the completion of the constitutional formalities required in its territory for the entry into force of this Agreement. This Agreement shall enter into force on the date of the second notification.

This Agreement shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Thereafter it shall continue to be in force until the expiration of twelve month from the date on which either Contracting Party shall have given written notice of termination to the other.

In respect of investments made whilst the Agreement is in force, its provisions shall continue in effect with respect to such investments for a period of ten years after the date of termination and without prejudice to the application thereafter of the rules of general international law.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.

Done in duplicate at KIIEV, this 15 day of February 1995, in the Estonian, Ukrainian and English languages, all texts being equally authentic.

In case of any divergence of interpretation, the English text shall prevail.