PACE Says Russian Assets Should Be Used To Pay Compensation To Ukraine

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) As reported by Ukrinform, this is stated on the institution's websit.

The committee approved a draft resolution and recommendation based on a report by Tony Vaughan (the United Kingdom).

In two interstate cases brought by Ukraine, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has already found Russia responsible for serious human rights violations caused by its war of aggression. At the same time, the amount of just satisfaction that Russia must pay Ukraine has not yet been determined.

“But given the scale of the damage inflicted on Ukraine, which is unprecedented in the history of the Council of Europe, any awards could potentially amount to billions, tens of billions, or hundreds of billions of euros”, PACE's Legal Affairs Committee pointed out.

The parliamentarians concluded that directing Russian state assets toward compensation payments to Ukraine in war-related cases would be consistent with international law.

“The repurposing of Russian state assets to pay compensation to Ukraine in cases concerning the war would constitute a lawful countermeasure under international law,” the approved document states.

Following the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, about €260 billion in assets belonging to the Central Bank of Russia were immobilized. Of this amount, approximately €210 billion is held in the EU.

The Committee proposed establishing a special funding mechanism under the auspices of the Council of Europe that would receive these assets and disburse the funds to Ukraine.

PACE recalled that Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe on March 16, 2022, and six months later ceased to be a party to the European Convention on Human Rights. However, Russia remains obliged to comply with ECHR judgments concerning violations committed before the Convention ceased to apply to it.

“This obligation under international law does not diminish with time and cannot be set aside by Russian domestic law,” the parliamentarians pointed out.

The Committee also called on states to ensure that ECHR judgments against the Russian Federation can be enforced at the national level. To this end, national legislation should allow applicants to seek recovery of the compensation awarded to them for as long as Russia refuses to pay voluntarily.

Read also: Belgian government opposes using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine

In addition, the Committee proposed creating a public list of individuals responsible for large-scale human rights violations established by ECHR judgments who have not yet been held accountable. The list should be regularly updated and shared with Council of Europe member states, the EU, and the ICC to facilitate targeted sanctions or criminal prosecution.

The draft resolutions and recommendation approved by the committee are scheduled to be submitted to the PACE plenary session on September 30.

As reported by Ukrinform, Ukraine supports revisiting the idea of using frozen Russian assets.

Photo: Ellen Wuibaux/Council of Europe

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