During the summit of the Council of Europe in Reykjavík on May 16-17, 2023, it was announced the adoption of the Expanded Partial Agreement on the register of damages caused to Ukraine as a result of Russian military aggression, which was approved by Resolution 1466 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on May 12, 2023 meetings of deputy ministers.

The agreement stipulates that the Register is created for 3 years with the possibility of further extension of its operation.

It will have the status of a legal entity that will be physically located in The Hague in the Netherlands. In order to simplify the submission of applications by affected persons, he will also have a representative office in Ukraine.

Organizationally, the Register will consist of 4 main elements:

• A conference of member states, which must meet at least once a year and exercise general management of the Registry’s activities;
• The board, which should consist of 7 members, including 1 delegated by Ukraine, should meet at least once a quarter and should consider the issue of admissibility of claims and their inclusion in the Register;
• Executive Director, who should be appointed at the proposal of Ukraine and who should carry out operational and administrative management of the activities of the Registry;
• Secretariat, which should ensure the organizational work of the Registry under the leadership of the Executive Director.

The functions of the Register will include:

• accept and process information from received claims for compensation and attached evidence;
• classify and systematize submitted applications;
• evaluate compliance with the requirements for inclusion in the Register;
• register applications for further consideration and decision-making.

Importantly, the Registry will not directly consider claims for damages and, in particular, decide on the distribution of any payments or compensation. A special Commission, which should be created, will be responsible for this.

It will be possible to submit an application to the Register for compensation for losses or damage caused by:

• February 24, 2022 and later;
• On the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders;
• Internationally illegal actions of the Russian Federation in or against Ukraine.

Such a statement and evidence can be submitted to it by affected legal entities and citizens, as well as the state of Ukraine in the person of its state or local authorities and business entities under their control.

More details at the link: https://minjust.gov. ua/news/ministry/mijnarodniy-reestr-zbitkiv-zavdanih-agresieyu-rf-proti-ukraini-stvoreno

The publication was prepared within the framework of the project “Raising awareness among self-governing local governments and citizens on recording the destruction caused by war”, which is implemented by the Ukrainian Association of District and Regional Councils with the support of the “Phoenix” project, which is implemented by the Eastern Europe Fund at the expense of the European Union.

The opinions expressed in this material do not necessarily reflect the position of the Eastern Europe Foundation and the European Union.