Convention Establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine
PURPOSE: to conclude the convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine.
PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.
BACKGROUND: on 14 November 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/ES11/5, affirming that Russia must be held accountable for any violations of international law committed in or against Ukraine, including making reparation for the injury, including any damage, caused by such acts. It also recommended establishing, in cooperation with Ukraine, an international mechanism for reparation for damage, loss, or injury arising from the internationally wrongful acts of Russia in or against Ukraine. It also recommended that Member States, in cooperation with Ukraine, create an international register of damage.
In May 2023, the Council of Europe established this register of damages, which the European Union has joined. The register, which became operational in April 2024, is responsible for examining and assessing admissible claims, ruling on these claims, and determining the amount of compensation due on a case-by-case basis.
On 17 March 2025, the Council adopted a Decision authorising the Commission to participate, on behalf of the Union, in the negotiations on the draft instrument setting up an International Claims Commission for Ukraine. Around 55 delegations, including the European Union and all its Member States, participated in the negotiation meetings. The first three meetings were convened in the format of an Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee on an International Treaty to establish a Claims Commission for Ukraine (INC). During its third meeting, the INC decided to develop the International Treaty as an open Council of Europe convention.
On 16 December 2025, the Council adopted Decision (EU) 2025/2655 authorising the Commission to sign, on behalf of the European Union, the Convention subject to its conclusion at a later stage. The Decision also authorised the signing of the Final Act of the Diplomatic Conference and approved the adoption of the Resolution, which sets out the necessary arrangements for the commencement of the Claims Commission’s functions and the fulfilment of its mandate.
The Union is firmly committed to ensuring that the Russian Federation bears the legal consequences of its internationally wrongful acts against Ukraine, including the obligation to make reparation for any damage, loss, or injury caused by those acts. It is therefore appropriate for the Union to approve the Convention.
In accordance with Article 10(1)(a) of the Convention, the Council of the Claims Commission should be composed of a minimum of nine and a maximum of 15 members, who will serve for a term of three years on a rotational basis. It is in the Union’s interest to be among the first nine Parties to consent to be bound by the Convention, in order to be included among the initial nine members of the Council.
CONTENT: the draft Council decision concerns the approval of the convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine.
The convention stipulates that the International Claims Commission for Ukraine will be an independent administrative body with international legal personality, operating within the institutional framework of the Council of Europe. The Claims Commission constitutes the second component of the international compensation mechanism. The functions of the Register of Damage should continue as part of the Claims Commission, which will become the Register’s legal successor, inheriting its digital platform, data, and archives. The Claims Commission will provide the necessary assistance to Ukraine to ensure that the Russian Federation bears the legal consequences of its internationally wrongful acts against Ukraine, including the obligation to make reparation for any damage, loss, or injury resulting from those acts.
The International Claims Commission will function as a fact-finding body tasked with reviewing, assessing, and deciding eligible claims, and determining the amount of compensation due in each case.
The Convention also recognises that the third component of the international compensation mechanism may also include a future compensation fund mandated to pay compensation for damage, loss or injury caused by the Russian Federation’s internationally wrongful acts in or against Ukraine.
The Convention is open for ratification, acceptance or approval by all member States of the Council of Europe, the European Union and any other States that participated in the Diplomatic Conference, and any other States that voted in favour of UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/ES-11/5.