Council of Europe Chief Welcomes Progress on Special Tribunal Statute Against Russia and Compensation Mechanism

The progress in preparing for the launch of a special tribunal within the Council of Europe, the completion of the compensation mechanism for the Register of Damages and the consideration of claims against Russia by the European Court of Human Rights are part of a unified system that the Council of Europe has created to ensure that Russia is held fully accountable for its crimes against Ukraine.

Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset said this at a press conference following the 13th meeting of the Core Group on the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

‘The Core Group has made important progress at the legal level in the preparation of the Special Tribunal's charter, which will have an impact on Ukrainians for generations to come. However, the hard work is just beginning. We will not stop until Russia is held fully accountable,’ said Berset. 

He added that justice and reparation are two sides of the same coin. Therefore, the next step of the Council of Europe will be to establish a special commission to review claims in order to launch a compensation mechanism, which is a necessary element for the Register of Damages to function.

‘We need to have a full-fledged compensation mechanism for Ukraine. The Compensation Commission will be the next necessary step, and last week we made significant progress in adopting the terms of reference for this,’ said Berset.

He reminded that in April last year, the Council of Europe launched the Register of Damages for Ukraine, which has already registered 13,000 claims for damage or destruction of housing. The Register has also recently launched a new category of claims in connection with the death of an immediate family member.

All these decisions, according to Berset, are part of a unified system of the Council of Europe, which fully uses its experience and knowledge to support Ukraine.

‘We have the European Court of Human Rights, which is considering more than 4,000 cases against Russia related to the events in Crimea, Donbas and the full-scale war in Ukraine. We will have a Claims Commission in the Register of Damages and a full compensation mechanism, and we must have a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression,’ he explained.

At the 13th meeting of the international Core Group in Brussels, the legal framework for the Special Tribunal was laid down, including the key elements of its statute.

Established in 2023, the Core Group for the Establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine is a group of senior legal experts from around 40 states who cooperate with the Ukrainian authorities, the European Commission, the European External Action Service and the Council of Europe.