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Committee of Ministers approves draft convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine

Council of Europe

A new step towards accountability and justice for Ukraine

Committee of Ministers
Strasbourg
22 October 2025

The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers has today approved a draft convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine.

The claims commission will be the second part of a comprehensive compensation mechanism outlined in the Reykjavik Declaration of 2023, alongside the Register of Damage for Ukraine, which has been collecting claims since early 2024, and a future compensation fund.

The convention establishing the International Claims Commission will now be adopted and opened for signature at a diplomatic conference in The Hague on 16 December 2025.

It will enter into force after 25 ratifications, as long as the associated financial commitments are sufficient to support the commission's initial work.

States, including non-members of the Council of Europe, and the European Union may become parties to the convention and therefore members of the commission.

The approval of the draft convention by the Committee of Ministers is another major step in the Council of Europe's efforts to hold the Russian Federation accountable for its war of aggression against Ukraine and to ensure that Russia bears the legal and economic consequences of the damage caused.

Background: The Council of Europe's work in ensuring compensation for Ukraine

Step 1 - Collecting and recording claims: the role of the Register of Damage

The Register of Damage collects and records claims for compensation submitted by individuals, entities and the state of Ukraine, and retains the supporting evidence.

It then categorises, classifies and organises claims and - through its Board - assesses them and determines their eligibility. Eligible claims are recorded in the register.

Up to now, the register has received some 65,000 claims related to, among other things, deaths of family members, missing people, torture and injury, sexual violence, deprivation of liberty and involuntary displacement and forceful deportation of children and adults, as well as damage to and destruction of property.

While the register receives and records claims, it does not evaluate them on their merits, nor does it assess their value or determine amounts to be compensated. That will be the role of the International Claims Commission.

The register's work will be incorporated within the claims commission as soon as possible after the commission is established.

Step 2 - Assessing and determining claims: the role of the International Claims Commission

The International Claims Commission will review, assess and decide on compensation claims. It will also determine the amount of compensation, if any, that is due in each case.

The facts on which claims will be decided will have to have taken place on or after 24 February 2022, on the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders. Claims will have to concern damage to natural and legal persons, or to the State of Ukraine, including its regional and local authorities and state-owned or controlled entities.

Step 3 - Paying the damages: a compensation fund to come

The third step of the international compensation mechanism - namely a compensation fund - is still to be discussed. Interested parties are exploring possible sources of funding for the compensation that will be determined and awarded by the claims commission.