The International Claims Commission of Ukraine

The International Claims Commission of Ukraine has this week crossed the threshold from legal concept to institutional reality. Its formal establishment as an organ of the Council of Europe marks a decisive moment in the international legal response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. What had previously existed as an aspirational mechanism supported by political declarations and preparatory frameworks has now been anchored within one of Europe’s most enduring multilateral institutions. This development transforms the Commission from an idea into a functioning legal body with a binding treaty foundation.

The Council of Europe’s decision to constitute the Commission as an independent organ under a Convention establishing the International Claims Commission for Ukraine confirms not only political support but a concrete international legal structure. The Convention, agreed today and opened for signature in The Hague, sets out the Commission’s mandate, functions and procedural framework. It builds upon earlier work on the Register of Damage for Ukraine — itself established under a Council of Europe agreement in 2023 — and creates a two-step reparation mechanism grounded in international law. 

Legal Basis and Purpose

The Convention explicitly recognises the principle of state responsibility under international law: that a state committing an internationally wrongful act bears an obligation to make full reparation for its injury, including damage, loss or injury caused. The legal basis draws upon relevant United Nations General Assembly resolutions, including calls for an international compensation mechanism in response to Russia’s aggression, as well as the basic principles on the right to remedy and reparation for victims of serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. 

The stated purpose of the Commission is precise: to review, assess and decide on claims for compensation submitted to the Register of Damage for Ukraine and to determine the amount of compensation, if any, which is due in each case. The Convention further details that the Commission may serve as the second component of a broader compensation mechanism, to be complemented in future by a separate compensation fund, which remains under negotiation. 

Jurisdiction and Scope

The Convention grants the Commission jurisdiction over claims for damage, loss or injury caused by internationally wrongful acts committed by the Russian Federation in or against Ukraine, arising on or after 24 February 2022. It applies to damage within Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders — including her territorial waters, airspace and exclusive economic zone — and also to Ukrainian-registered vessels or aircraft operating under Ukraine’s jurisdiction. 

Unlike the Register, which merely records claims and supporting evidence, the Commission is expressly empowered to examine the merits of each claim and to quantify compensation. Decisions of the Commission are final as between parties under the Convention regime and will create a legally binding obligation owed by the Russian Federation to successful claimants under international law. 

Composition, Procedures and Location

The Convention provides that the Commission will be an independent body within the institutional framework of the Council of Europe, yet operating on its own legal basis. Its seat will be in The Hague, Netherlands, consistent with the location of the existing Register of Damage, which will be transferred to the Commission upon its operationalisation. 

Membership of the Convention is not limited to Council of Europe member states. It is an open convention, allowing accession by any state, the European Union and other regional organisations that participated in the United Nations General Assembly resolution on reparations. All parties to the Convention, whether Council of Europe members or not, will participate on an equal footing. 

The Convention sets out that it will enter into force after ratification by at least 25 states or regional organisations, provided that sufficient financial commitments have been secured to support the Commission’s initial work. Only after these conditions are met will the Commission begin full operations. 

Financial and Institutional Provisions

The Convention acknowledges that the Commission’s work will initially be funded through annual contributions by members and voluntary contributions. Should the Russian Federation become a party to the Convention, the treaty text foresees that she would bear the costs attributed to it under the established scales of contribution. The Commission’s budget and financial arrangements, although presently modest compared with the scale of anticipated claims, are designed to be transparent and subject to oversight by the member states through the Convention’s governance structures. 

Relationship to Other Legal Mechanisms

The Convention clarifies that the Commission will operate alongside — but independently of — other international legal processes, including the European Court of Human Rights and the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. The Commission’s decisions must take into account relevant judgments or awards by courts and tribunals established under international law, with procedural safeguards to prevent double compensation for the same damage. 

Strategic and Legal Significance

This week's adoption of the Convention establishing the International Claims Commission enshrines a legal mechanism capable of translating the unprecedented scale of damage in Ukraine into enforceable claims. In situating the Commission within the Council of Europe — an institution with deep roots in human rights and rule-of-law traditions — the international community has signalled that accountability and reparations are not optional aspects of post-conflict reconstruction, but foundational principles of a European legal order that rejects impunity for aggression.

Yet the Convention’s provisions also highlight the challenges ahead. Enforcement of awards remains legally and politically complex; the nascent compensation fund envisaged in the treaty has yet to be established; and the drafting reflects the realities of an ongoing conflict in which evidence, asset access and legal jurisdiction will be contested.

Nonetheless the Commission’s treaty basis, as agreed today, offers a durable legal framework grounded in international law, multilateral cooperation and procedural rigour. It represents a significant evolution from registration of claims towards substantive adjudication, and potentially — in due course — compensation. Whether it fulfils this promise will depend on sustained political will, ratification by a broad coalition of states and the development of enforcement mechanisms that honour the weight of the legal obligations now articulated in the Convention.