Olga Boltenko | Arbitrator Profile, Hong Kong & Singapore

Ms. Olga Boltenko, FCIArb, is a barrister and arbitrator with over a decade of experience in cross-border dispute resolution and international arbitration. Most recently with Fangda Partners in Hong Kong, Ms. Boltenko has also practised with leading arbitration teams in Paris and Singapore.

With a particular focus on public international law, investor-State dispute resolution, and commercial arbitration, Ms. Boltenko has acted as legal counsel in investor-State disputes under the auspices of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the ICSID, the SCC, the ICC, the LCIA, and in various capacities in dozens of commercial disputes in a wide array of industries including oil and gas, mining, infrastructure, construction, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals, across Asia and beyond.

Ms. Boltenko teaches a master of laws degree in arbitration and ADR with a focus on Belt & Road investment law at The University of Hong Kong, where she is a deputy executive director. She is also a professor of law at the Royal University of Law and Economics in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where she teaches a course in investment law at the dual degree program with the Free University of Brussels.

Ms. Boltenko is a proud founding member of the Paris Arbitration Centre. She is also one of the longest-serving editors for the Investor-State Law Guide, where she contributes to the ongoing review and population of one of the leading investor-State databases.

Ms. Boltenko has been consistently recognized in legal rankings, including by Who's Who Legal, where she has been ranked over the years as a National Leader for Hong Kong and a Thought Leader Global Elite - Under 45. She is described as a "highly motivated and hard-working practitioner who stands out as an excellent choice for investor-state disputes".

Ms. Boltenko is listed as an arbitrator on the following panels:

Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC)
Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC)
Asia International Arbitration Centre (AIAC)
China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC)
Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA)
Xi'An Arbitration Commission (XAAC)
Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP)
Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA)
Tashkent International Arbitration Center (TIAC)
Thai Arbitration Institute (TAI)
Thailand Arbitration Center (THAC)
British Virgin Islands International Arbitration Centre (BVIIAC)
Beihai Asia International Arbitration Centre (BAIAC)
Brunei Darussalam Arbitration Centre (BDAC)
Korean Commercial Arbitration Board (KCAB)
South China International Arbitration Center HK (SCIAHK)
Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC)
Hong Kong Bar Association Arbitrator List
Australian Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (ACICA)
The Japan Commercial Arbitration Association (JCAA)

Areas of Expertise

Public international law and investor-State dispute resolution
Commercial disputes in a wide array of industries including telecommunications, oil and gas, construction, shareholders, and supply chains

Education

Moscow State Institute (University) of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation: specialist in public international law, cum laude, 2005
Paris-1 Pantheon-Sorbonne: LLM in French and EU Law, 2006
Beijing Language and Culture University: Mandarin Chinese studies, 2014

Professional Qualifications

Admitted to practice law in the Russian Federation, 2005
Called to the Bar (Primorsky Region, Russia), 2009
Registered as a foreign lawyer with the Hong Kong Law Society, 2013
Admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong SAR, 2020
Admitted as a foreign lawyer before the Singapore International Commercial Court, 2022
Called to the Bar (Hong Kong SAR), 2024

Languages Spoken

Fluent English, Russian, and French
Working German and Norwegian
Some knowledge of Mandarin Chinese

Representative Matters

Arbitrator Work | A Selection of Arbitrator Appointments

Sole arbitrator in an emergency arbitration under the KCAB rules arising out of a manufacturing and distribution agreement governed by Korean law with a seat in Seoul
Co-arbitrator in an SIAC arbitration arising out of a Russian law governed set of manufacture and sales contracts
Sole arbitrator in a dispute arising out of a contentious construction project in Mongolia, governed by Mongolian law with a seat in Singapore (emergency)
Sole arbitrator in a construction dispute governed by Mongolian law over a construction project located in Ulaanbaatar, conducted under the 2024 HKIAC Administered Arbitration Rules (expedited procedure)
Sole arbitrator in a Hong Kong-seated HKIAC arbitration arising out of a services agreement with respect to ERP processes between a Singaporean and a Vietnamese party
Sole arbitrator in a HKIAC arbitration arising out of a set of promissory notes, seated in Hong Kong and governed by Hong Kong law
Presiding arbitrator in a HKIAC arbitration with a seat in Hong Kong arising out of a set of oil logging agreements
Co-arbitrator in a SCC arbitration with a seat in Stockholm arising out of a set of licensing agreements for manufacturing and distribution of beverages, governed by Danish law
Co-arbitrator in a high-stake ICC dispute arising out of a supply transaction between Eastern European and Germany entities with respect to a sea port
Presiding arbitrator in a dispute between a Chinese and a Central Asian entity arising out of a freight forwarding contract, with a seat in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, administered by the International Commercial Court at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Re-appointment: sole arbitrator in a construction dispute arising out of a residential premises construction project in Mongolia, conducted under the arbitration rules of the Mongolian International Arbitration Centre
Sole arbitrator in a construction dispute between a Russian sub-contractor and an Italian contractor, seated in Moscow and conducted under the Arbitration Rules of the Russian Arbitration Centre at the Russian Institute of Modern Arbitration
Sole arbitrator in an ICC dispute arising out of a set of supply arrangements between a South Korean manufacturer and a Brazilian supplier, under Hong Kong law with a legal seat in Hong Kong
Sole arbitrator in a construction dispute under the Mongolian Arbitration Centre Rules arising out of a construction project in Ulaan Batar, under Mongolian law with a legal seat in Ulaan Batar
Sole arbitrator in an ad hoc arbitration arising out of a set of supply arrangements between a French party and a Malaysian party, with a seat in Kuala Lumpur
Co-arbitrator in a CIETAC dispute arising out of a set of manufacturing-related arrangements between a Russian party and a Belorussian party, under PRC law with a legal seat in Beijing
Sole arbitrator in a Russian Arbitration Centre dispute arising under a set of supply arrangements between two Russian parties, under Russian law with a legal seat in Moscow

Counsel and Registrar Work | Representative Matters

Advising a Dubai based claimant in a set of Hong Kong seated HKIAC arbitrations with ancillary Russian court proceedings in an English law governed dispute arising out of a business acquisition
Representing a PRC company in an UNCITRAL arbitration arising out of a set of bitmining-related agreements under Kazakhstan and PRC law with a seat in Hong Kong
Commercial dispute arising out of a maritime transportation contract involving matters of interpretation of contractual provisions under Hong Kong law on the meaning of what is "customary" treatment of cargo in a specific airport (involving expert evidence)
Advising a global video games manufacturer on licensing arrangements in a potential dispute
Advising a group of companies (Singapore, Hong Kong, and PRC) on Singapore-seated complex multi-party arbitration under the SIAC rules with respect to manufacturing and distribution of certain retail goods in the PRC
Advising a Chinese manufacturer on a multi-million USD distribution dispute under SIAC Rules with a seat in Singapore
Advising an Eastern European shipbuilder on a contentious situation arising out of a blocked vessel in the PRC
Advising an Italian contractor in a large-scale infrastructure dispute in South Asia
Representing a major international agricultural business in a large-scale funds recovery effort in Hong Kong
Advising an Eastern European client on regulatory matters relating to trading gold in Hong Kong
Representing a party in a contentious situation involving blocked credit limits with respect to an agricultural trade transaction
Acting for a buyer in a potentially contentious acquisition of a substantial stock in a Hong Kong listed company
Advising an Eastern European bank on acquisition of a stake in a Hong Kong listed company
Advising Russian shareholders of a Hong Kong incorporated holding company on a shareholders dispute in Hong Kong with accompanying winding-up proceedings
Advising a Paraguayan entity in recovering amounts defrauded from the company in a large scale email scam
Advising a Chinese shareholder in a shareholders dispute relating to a JV in Hong Kong with main assets in the mainland China
Advising a Chinese shareholder in a shareholders dispute relating to an acquisition of a technology business in Europe
Representing a Chinese State-owned enterprise in investor-State negotiations of a dispute arising out of a large-scale nationalisation of an infrastructure investment project in Africa
Representing a European investor against a sovereign State in set aside proceedings before Hong Kong courts with respect to a Hong Kong-seated treaty arbitration
Representing a Russian individual in a dispute over bitminers and other cryptocurrency equipment in Hong Kong
Representing Armenia against a US national in an ICSID dispute under the US-Armenia BIT arising out of Armenia's alleged breach of the BIT's full protection and security standard
Representing AFK Sistema in an ICSID arbitration against Turkmenistan arising out of Turkmenistan cancellation of mobile telecommunication licences
Representing Ukraine in ICSID Case ARB/06/18 Joseph Charles Lemire v Ukraine
Representing Ukraine in ICSID Case ARB/09/11 Global Trading Resources Corp. and Globex International, Inc. v Ukraine
Representing a Ukrainian state agency in a dispute under the PCA Environmental Rules over the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol in Ukraine
Acting as a PCA legal counsel in a set of ECT arbitrations against the Russian Federation over the expropriation of the Yukos Oil Company
Advising a major Russian bank on strategic issues of a large-scale transnational debt recovery effort
Representing a Japanese vehicle manufacturing company in a Brussels based ICC arbitration in a dispute arising out of a FIDIC construction contract
Representing a French construction company in a Stockholm based ICC arbitration in a dispute over a FIDIC construction contract
Representing a French Michelin star restaurant group in an IP dispute against a Hong Kong entity over multiple breaches of a licensing agreement

Expert Witness Work

Issued a legal opinion on the operation of deeds of release of claims under Hong Kong law
Amicus curiae on access to justice in Hong Kong before the Constitutional Court of Russia
Issued a legal opinion with respect to compliance of a complex supply contract with laws and regulations of Hong Kong SAR
Issued a legal opinion under Hong Kong law on the impact of sanctions imposed by various jurisdictions on contract performance
Appeared as a Russian law expert witness in set aside proceedings in the Federal Courts of Australia

Speaking Engagements

Ms. Boltenko is a frequent speaker at conferences in Asia and beyond.

Upcoming

Arbitration Rules Downloads

Download Mongolian International Arbitration Rules

The English translation of the Arbitration Rules of the Mongolian International Arbitration Centre has been prepared by Alexander Dondokov.

Download CIETAC Arbitration Rules in Nepali

Nepali translation of the CIETAC Arbitration Rules has been prepared by Pioneer Law Associates (Nepal) and Prakritee Yonzon (HKU PhD Candidate).

Arbitration Research Associates