International Claims Commission to be Established for Ukraine Reparations
Thirty-five countries and the European Union recently signed a new Convention to establish an International Claims Commission for Ukraine (the "Commission"). The Commission will build on the Register of Damage for Ukraine ("RD4U"), which officially launched in April 2024 to provide a structured framework for recording compensation claims for damage, loss and injury inflicted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine commencing on 24 February 2022 (the "Invasion"). The Commission—which will be established within the Council of Europe framework—will review, assess, and decide claims and determine any compensation due.
In this Legal Update, we examine this new development which is important for those who have suffered loss due to the Invasion.
THE CONVENTION
The Convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine (the "Convention") was signed on 16 December 2025 by Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, as well as the European Union. Greece signed it on 19 December.
The Convention marks the second step in the Council of Europe's three-step compensation architecture for Ukraine, which was preceded by the RD4U and is expected to be completed by a compensation fund in due course (see below).
THE RD4U
The RD4U collects and records compensation claims submitted by individuals, organizations, and public bodies in Ukraine (read more about it in our 2024 Legal Update). Claims are submitted to the Register through Ukraine's Diia system, a secure government digital platform which integrates with Ukraine's broader digital infrastructure for evidence collection. The RD4U does not examine or adjudicate the claims; it simply records them.
44 States and the European Union have so far joined the Register, which has already received 86,000 claims, underscoring the scale of the future caseload for the Commission. It should be noted that those applications were exclusively made by individuals, since applications by legal entities, including State-related, have not been open for submission to date.
WHEN WILL THE COMMISSION BE ESTABLISHED?
The Commission will be established when the Convention has been ratified by 25 states (or Regional Integration Organizations ("RIO")), and it has sufficient funds to support its initial operations. No States have yet ratified the Convention.
The Commission will be an independent body established within the framework of the Council of Europe, with its seat in The Hague in the Netherlands. However, as this is an "open convention," any state, the European Union, and any other RIO may become a member of the Commission by becoming a party to the Convention ("Member"). This reflects a broad and cooperative global approach to reparations for Ukraine.
The Commission will operate independently from the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (also established within the institutional framework of the Council of Europe).
HOW WILL CLAIMS BE DECIDED BY THE COMMISSION?
Shortly after the Commission has been established, the work of the Register will be transferred to the Commission, which shall take over its functions and hence be the direct recipient of new compensation claims from the date of its establishment.
The eligibility criteria for claims which will be reviewed by the Commission is as follows: claims must relate to harm occurring on or after 24 February 2022, within Ukraine's internationally recognized borders (including territorial waters), and may be submitted by individuals, legal entities, and the State of Ukraine (including its regional/local authorities and state owned/controlled entities). It also extends to any aircraft or vessel under the jurisdiction of Ukraine.
The Commission comprises an Assembly which has "overall responsibility" for fulfilling the Commission's mandate and oversees its many bodies. All ratifying States automatically become Assembly members. The Commission's bodies will include a Financial Committee and Council.
The Council will – among other things – appoint Commissioners from a roster of candidates created by the Commission's Secretariat (which provides administrative and other support). Panels comprising three Commissioners will review the claims and recommend decisions for the Council to adopt, with reasons.
According to the Convention, "the Commissioners shall be experts in fields such as international law, dispute resolution, finance, accountancy, insurance, or damage assessment" and they shall be appointed on "an inclusive basis."
The rules and procedures to be applied by the Panels when assessing and deciding claims, and determining the amount of compensation due, will be fully determined by the Council. However, the Convention provides some guidelines. It stipulates that, in their decision-making, the Panels and the Council must take into account, as appropriate, relevant judgments or awards by other courts, tribunals, or adjudicative bodies established under international law. They can also consider relevant judgments or awards by any national courts and tribunals. They will also need to take appropriate measures to prevent double compensation for the same damage, loss, or injury. The Convention also directly empowers the Panels to request experts to assist them where specialized knowledge or expertise is required.
In parallel with the Commission's Secretariat, each Commissioner is expected to be independent, hence conflicts and disclosure rules will be adopted in due course.
The Council must fully consider a Panel's recommendation, which will be treated as approved unless it decides to remit it to the Panel (with reasons), enabling the Panel to make a new recommendation as appropriate.
The decisions rendered by the Commission will be final and not subject to appeal. As to enforcement, the Convention makes it clear that decisions of the Commission cannot be enforced through courts or other judicial or quasi-judicial institutions within the national jurisdictions of the Members (unless expressly permitted by a relevant Member under the national law of that Member). This naturally raises enforcement concerns: will the mechanism lead to actual compensation for those seeking it, especially if the third element of the compensation mechanism—the Compensation Fund—is not established?
HOW WILL THE COMMISSION BE FINANCED?
Should Russia become a Member, then it will bear the costs of the Commission pursuant to the Convention. Until then, the Commission will be financed through the annual contributions of Members and through voluntary contributions.
STEP THREE: THE COMPENSATION FUND
Once the Commission issues decisions awarding damages, how will those damages be paid? It is expected that, as a third step, a compensation fund will be created to pay the awards issued by the Commission. Funding sources are still under discussion among interested States and organizations including potentially using immobilized Russian assets in the European Union.
At this stage, it is noteworthy that the Convention itself (Article 21) sets out the expectation that Russia will fund the compensation determined and awarded by the Commission on the premise that it "must bear the legal consequences of all of its internationally wrongful acts" including making reparation for any damage it has caused.
CONCLUDING REMARK
This is a highly welcome development which marks "a major step forward in ensuring accountability for Ukraine." It is hoped that sufficient funding for, and ratifications of, the Convention will be forthcoming so that the Commission can be established as early as possible to bring those affected by the Invasion one step closer to obtaining the reparations due to them.
