International Loss Register: What is it and how will it work?
Russia's armed aggression has created a huge number of problems, including an unprecedented amount of destruction and damage to public and private property. The scale of the damage is incredible.
According to the latest rapid assessment of Ukraine's damage and needs, conducted by the Government of Ukraine together with the World Bank Group, the European Commission and the United Nations, as of December 31, 2023, Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction needs are estimated at nearly $500 billion. As of January 2024, the amount of direct damage to Ukraine's infrastructure during the war reached almost $155 billion, and to the environment - $57 billion. The total damage to Ukraine's cultural heritage is estimated at $2.85 billion. More than 150,000 civilian infrastructure facilities have been destroyed or damaged.
In order for the Russian Federation to fully compensate for the human and material losses caused by its internationally wrongful actions, the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine was created pursuant to the UN General Assembly Resolution of November 14, 2022 "Promoting the Implementation of Legal Remedies and Providing Reparations for the Aggression against Ukraine", which is the first component of a comprehensive international compensation mechanism.
The main concept of the international compensation mechanism is to build, in close cooperation with international partners and international organizations, a comprehensive system that will ensure real compensation for the damage caused by the aggression.
The first step towards the creation of this mechanism was taken on May 12, 2023: at the 1466th meeting of the Council of Europe's deputy ministers, Resolution CM/Res(2023)3 was adopted on the establishment of an Enlarged Partial Agreement on a Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. The establishment of the Register was announced at the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe held in Reykjavik on May 16-17, 2023.
The location of the International Register of Losses is the Hague. The Hague, the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The International Register of Losses is designed to receive and process claims and evidence; to classify and systematize such claims, to evaluate and determine the eligibility of claims for inclusion in the Register and to register eligible claims for future consideration and adjudication.
To date, 43 states and the EU have become members or associate members of the Register of Losses.
All governing bodies of the Register have been established. The Board of the Register has adopted its first set of rules and regulations of the Register necessary for its launch. It includes the rules for submission, processing and entry of claims, as well as the categories of claims eligible for entry into the Register of Losses. These categories of claims include: loss of life, torture and sexual violence, as well as bodily injury, forced displacement and forced resettlement of persons, loss of property and income and other forms of economic loss, damage to critical infrastructure and other state facilities, damage to historical and cultural heritage, environmental damage and other categories determined by the Council. Once these rules are approved by the Conference of Participants, they will be published on the website of the Register of Losses in accordance with the procedure provided for by the Charter of the Register of Losses.
Active work is currently underway to develop and launch a digital platform to ensure fast and efficient submission and processing of claims and evidence. The digital platform is intended for submitting claims and evidence of losses, verifying the information received, processing and storing it.
In early April 2024, during the International Conference "Restoring Justice for Ukraine" organized by the Netherlands in The Hague, the technical launch of the Register will be announced to receive the first applications and evidence from individuals.
At the same time, the establishment of the Register of Damages is not the ultimate goal of achieving justice for Ukraine and its people. It is extremely important to make sure that the information collected by the Register is not wasted in the Register's database.
The work of the Registry, including its digital platform with all the data on the allegations and evidence contained therein, should be the first component of a future international compensation mechanism to be established by a separate international instrument in cooperation with Ukraine (the "Compensation Mechanism"). The exact form of the future Compensation Mechanism is to be determined, but it may include a claims commission and a compensation fund authorized to consider claims and adjudicate and/or pay compensation for losses, damages or injuries caused by the internationally wrongful acts of the Russian Federation in Ukraine or against Ukraine.
To this end, an impartial and effective international claims commission will be established, operating in accordance with recognized judicial norms, to review claims submitted by Ukraine and affected organizations and individuals seeking compensation for damage as a result of the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine.
Buhgalter 911 notes that the content of the author's materials may not coincide with the policy and opinion of the editorial team. The authors of the published materials include not only representatives of the editorial team.
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