Support for the reconstruction of Ukraine / Legal and human rights aspects of the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine
Reply to Recommendation
| Doc. 16167
| 06 May 2025
1. The Committee of Ministers informs the
Parliamentary Assembly that the following reply was adopted by a
majority as provided by Article 20 (d) of the Statute.
2. The Committee of Ministers has carefully examined Parliamentary
Assembly
Recommendation
2271 (2024) “Support for the reconstruction of Ukraine”,
which it has forwarded to the Committee of Legal Advisers on Public
International Law (CAHDI), MONEYVAL and the European Committee on
Crime Problems (CDPC) for information and possible comments, as
well as
Recommendation
2279 (2024) “Legal and human rights aspects of the Russian
Federation’s aggression against Ukraine”, which it has forwarded
to the CAHDI for information and possible comments. The Committee
of Ministers has the following comments to make regarding the numerous
recommendations on these issues.
3. Firstly, the Committee reiterates its unwavering support for
ensuring a comprehensive system of accountability for the aggression
of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and all its legal and
human rights consequences, as already underlined in several replies
to Assembly recommendations and on numerous occasions.
4. As concerns the Assembly’s call to proceed towards the establishment
of a compensation mechanism, the Committee recalls that the creation
of the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation
against Ukraine, according to Article 2.5 of its Statute, is intended
to constitute the first component of a future international compensation
mechanism, to which the Register should eventually be transferred. Significant
progress has been made towards the second component – a claims commission
for Ukraine – in the course of four preparatory meetings held in
The Hague in July, September and November 2024 and January 2025.
The discussions and insights from the 4th and
final preparatory meeting represent a pivotal step towards formal
negotiations aimed at establishing a robust framework to address
compensation claims stemming from the Russian Federation’s aggression
against Ukraine. Exploring the option of an open Council of Europe
convention in order to constitute such a framework met with widespread
interest during that meeting, as well as at the first meeting of
the Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee held on 24 to 26 March
2025. The Council of Europe was represented at these meetings through
its Secretariat.
5. The Committee of Ministers considers that the possibility
of establishing a claims commission under the umbrella of the Council
of Europe could facilitate the transition of the work of the Register
to the future claims commission, ensuring synergies and cost-effectiveness.
It further recognises that the establishment of a potential compensation
fund should be addressed once the claims commission is established.
6. Furthermore, the Committee takes note of the recommendation
to consider extending the temporal scope of the future international
compensation mechanism to cover damage caused before 24 February 2022, due
to the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine since 2014.
It considers this a political decision to be borne in mind at the
appropriate moment.
7. With regard to the call to establish an international trust
fund for the deposit of all seized Russian State assets, the Committee
draws the Assembly’s attention to customary international law of
State immunity, as codified to a significant extent in two relevant
treaties that should be considered when addressing the issue of the
seizure of Russian State assets: (i) the 2004 United Nations Convention
on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and their Property; and (ii)
the 1972 European Convention on State Immunity (ETS No. 74). With
respect to the use of countermeasures for this purpose, the Committee
highlights the important role of the UN International Law Commission’s
draft Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful
Acts, which reflect long-standing customary international law.
8. Regarding the recommendation to work towards the establishment
of a special tribunal, the Committee recalls the decisions taken
at its 1497th meeting on 30 April 2024
(
CM/Del/Dec(2024)1497/10.2)
in which it took note of the participation of the Council of Europe
in the Core Group concerning the establishment of a Special Tribunal
for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. Noting that the participants
of the Core Group expressed an interest in exploring the possibility
of establishing such a tribunal by an agreement between the Council
of Europe and Ukraine, it authorised the Secretary General to prepare
any necessary documents to contribute to these consultations, requested
the Secretary General to report regularly to the Deputies, and agreed
to consider any possible next steps in this process, as and when
appropriate, taking account of any proposals that may be made by
the Secretary General.
9. In line with this mandate, the Secretary General, represented
by his Legal Adviser, participated in the work of the Core Group,
prepared the necessary documents and has reported back to the Deputies
on progress made. Technical level discussions concerning the form
and features of a possible special tribunal have taken place within
this forum, including the possible establishment of such a tribunal
through an agreement between the Council of Europe and Ukraine,
supported by an enlarged partial agreement.
10. Finally, the Committee informs the Assembly that the CAHDI
prepared an indicative overview of possible options under international
law aimed at securing the payment by the Russian Federation of just
satisfaction awarded by the European Court of Human Rights, which
will be transmitted to the Ministers’ Deputies (DH meetings) in
the context of their annual exchange on the pending cases against
the Russian Federation.
