Russia’s frozen state assets should be used to pay Ukraine compensation for the damage caused by Russia’s war of aggression. The initiative was backed by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
This was reported on PACE’s website.
The initiative envisages using Russian assets to pay compensation to Ukraine following two rulings by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in inter-state cases brought on Ukraine’s applications. The Court has already established Russia’s responsibility for serious human rights violations caused by its aggression.
At the same time, the ECtHR has not yet determined the final amount of the so-called “just satisfaction” that Russia must pay Ukraine.
PACE noted that, given the unprecedented scale of the damage inflicted on Ukraine, potential payments could amount to billions, tens of billions, or even hundreds of billions of euros.
The PACE committee believes that redirecting Russian assets to pay compensation to Ukraine in war-related cases could be a lawful countermeasure under international law.
After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, around €260bn in assets of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation were frozen. Of these, about €210bn are held in the European Union.
Parliamentarians called for a special financing mechanism to be established under the auspices of the Council of Europe, which would make it possible to receive these funds and channel them to Ukraine as compensation.
PACE also recalled that Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe on 16 March 2022, and six months later it ceased to be a party to the European Convention on Human Rights. At the same time, Russia remains obliged to comply with ECtHR judgments concerning violations committed before its participation in the Convention ended. PACE stressed that these obligations cannot be annulled by Russian legislation.
In addition, the PACE committee urged states to ensure that other individuals and organisations with claims against Russia are able to seek enforcement of ECtHR compensation awards through national court mechanisms.
Separately, parliamentarians propose creating a public list of individuals implicated in large-scale human rights violations who have not yet been held to account. The list is to be updated regularly and shared with Council of Europe member states, the EU and the International Criminal Court for the possible imposition of targeted sanctions or criminal prosecution.
The PACE committee’s recommendation is due to be considered by the full Assembly on 30 September during the autumn plenary session.