Russian state assets should be used to pay compensation to Ukraine following judgments by the European Court of Human Rights, the amount of which could potentially reach tens or even hundreds of billions of euros. This was stated by the Committee on Legal Affairs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, UNN writes.
Details
This concerns two interstate cases brought by Ukraine against Russia. The ECHR has already established Russia’s responsibility for serious human rights violations related to its aggression, but the specific amount of “just satisfaction” has not yet been determined.
The PACE noted that, due to the unprecedented scale of the damage inflicted on Ukraine, compensation could amount to “billions, tens of billions, or hundreds of billions of euros.”
Hundreds of billions of Russian assets frozen in Europe
After the start of the full-scale invasion, approximately €260 billion in assets of Russia’s Central Bank were frozen, of which about €210 billion are held in the EU.
The PACE Committee supported the creation, under the auspices of the Council of Europe, of a separate mechanism that would allow these funds to be used to pay compensation to Ukraine. The document emphasizes that such repurposing of Russian state assets could be considered a lawful countermeasure under international law.
The parliamentarians also called on states to ensure that ECHR judgments against Russia can be enforced at the national level if Moscow refuses to pay compensation voluntarily.
Separately, the committee proposed creating and regularly updating a list of individuals involved in large-scale human rights violations, for the possible imposition of sanctions or subsequent prosecution.
The full PACE membership is to consider the relevant report on September 30.
EU court rejects Hungary's lawsuit over frozen Russian assets - Reuters09.09.26, 14:44