More than three years after the start of Russian aggression against Ukraine, questions of responsibility, reparations and reconstruction of Ukraine have become increasingly pressing. Two regional international organisations are central to these efforts: the Council of Europe and the European Union (EU). The Council of Europe is leading efforts to establish mechanisms for determining Russia’s responsibility and securing compliance with its international reparations obligations. A Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine has already been established, and a Compensation Commission is also in the process of being set up. A fundamental issue, however, remains unresolved: who will supply the funds required to compensate individuals under these proceedings? The EU has adopted a series of restrictive measures against Russia in response to the situation in Ukraine. The frozen assets of the Central Bank of Russia within the EU could play an important role in the context of reparations. The EU is, therefore, considering confiscating these assets and transferring them to Ukraine to offset the losses inflicted by the aggression. Moreover, new EU legislation now defines the violation of EU restrictive measures as a criminal offence and, inter alia, permits the confiscation of private assets in the context of criminal proceedings and their transfer to Ukraine. The question of Russia’s obligation to provide reparations for the damage caused to Ukraine by its unlawful actions is not disputed under international law. However, the seizure of both private and state property to fund such reparations raises numerous legal dilemmas, which are presented throughout this article.
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