"International law states that states have the right to take all necessary measures to respond to an act of aggression. However, we believe that states are obliged to take all measures," said Iryna Mudra, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine, in an interview with the "Legal Practice".
According to her, Ukraine is using all available international legal mechanisms for this purpose. However, none of them provides the opportunity to obtain full satisfaction in the form of reparations and compensation to be paid by Russia to both the state and every individual affected by Russia's aggression. This is why there is a need for something new: an international compensation mechanism.
"Many colleagues, both domestic and foreign, want to join the team working on the implementation of such a mechanism. Therefore, I can confidently say that the legal team is working at full capacity to hold the aggressor accountable, including financially," emphasized Iryna Mudra.
The international compensation mechanism will consist of three components: a registry of losses, a compensation commission, and a compensation fund. Work is currently underway to fully operationalize the first component, the International Registry of Losses.
In addition, a competition is ongoing to select candidates for proposals regarding the appointment of a member of the International Registry of Losses Council. This member will perform two functions:
- Develop rules and regulations that will govern the operation of the Registry and implement them after approval by the Conference of Participants.
- Make the final decision on the acceptability of applications and their inclusion in the Registry.
Furthermore, the Council will determine the date from which the Registry will be open for the submission of applications, evidence, and other information.
As Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine stated, the members of the Registry's Council will be compensated for their work: "The Council of Europe conducted a comprehensive study on this issue, and it was decided that the remuneration would amount to 85,000 euros per year. However, as specified in the candidate requirements, they must be willing to allocate up to 100 days per year for Registry-related work."
The acceptance and preliminary review of applications and documents from candidates for the position of a member of the Registry's Council in Ukraine are ongoing from September 18 to October 4. The final appointment of a member of the Registry's Council will be made based on the results of a secret ballot of the Conference of participating states of the Registry.
"Predicting the timeframes for receiving compensation for both Ukraine and all individuals affected by Russia's aggression is extremely difficult. This is a highly legally intricate and precise work. We are working on this while also urging our partners to use frozen Russian funds in some form to generate capital for us," summarized Iryna Mudra.
