The Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation Against Ukraine (or Register of Damage for Ukraine, RD4U) serves as a record of claims filed by individuals, entities, and the State of Ukraine for compensation for the damage, loss, and injury inflicted by the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. The Register also holds the supporting evidence of these claims.

The Register is tasked with receiving and processing the claims and related evidence. It includes categorising, classifying, and organising these claims based on certain criteria. The Register, through its Board, assesses the claims and determines their eligibility. Eligible claims will be recorded in the Register for future examination and evaluation.

To be recorded in the Register, the claims must be in relation to damage, loss or injury that:

• occurred on or after 24 February 2022;
• occurred in the territory of Ukraine, within its internationally recognised borders, including territorial waters;
• was caused by the internationally wrongful acts of the Russian Federation in or against Ukraine.

It is important to understand that the Register is not a court, a tribunal, a claims commission or a compensation fund. It will not examine or evaluate the claims it receives on their merit, assess their value, or order any payments. These will be the functions of a future international compensation mechanism that is yet to be established. The Register is just the first step towards such a mechanism. The work on the establishment of the compensation mechanism has already begun and the Register's mandate includes facilitation of the ongoing efforts to establish this mechanism.

Once the compensation mechanism is established, the work of the Register will continue as part of that new structure, and all the recorded claims and evidence will be transferred to it.

The Register was established within the framework of the Council of Europe by Resolution CM/Res(2023)3 establishing the Enlarged Partial Agreement on the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation Against Ukraine.

The Statute of the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, defining the Register’s mandate, functions, governance structure and participation was adopted by the same Resolution. The establishment of the Register was announced at the 4th Council of Europe Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Reykjavik on 16-17 May 2023.

The Register was created as a response to United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/ES-11/5 “Furtherance of remedy and reparation for aggression against Ukraine” of 14 November 2022, whereby the General Assembly recognised that Russia must be held to account for its violations of international law in Ukraine, including by way of payment of reparation. The resolution recognised the need for an international reparations mechanism and recommended the setting up of an international register of damage as a first step.

The Register is planning to open for the submission of claims in April 2024 – the exact date will be announced shortly.

The submission process will initially open for a single category of claims, namely damage and destruction of residential immovable property. This decision is driven by considerations of efficiency and expedition in light of the complicated development process of the Register’s digital systems, as this category is the most advanced in terms of available evidence in the required digital form. Commencing the submission with this category will also greatly assist in preparing the process for other more complex categories.

Other categories of claims will be introduced and become open for submission in the near future.

The Register’s mandate is broad. It includes claims for both material and non-material damage caused to individuals, legal entities and the State of Ukraine. While the categories of claims are yet to be finally determined, the Register’s Board has decided that these categories are expected to include claims related to:

• loss of life, torture and sexual violence, as well as personal injury
• involuntary displacement and forced relocation of individuals
• loss of property and revenue, and other forms of economic loss
• damage to critical infrastructure and other governmental facilities
• damage to historic and cultural heritage
• environmental damage
• other categories as determined by the Board.

In any case and regardless of the category, claims must be in relation to the damage, loss or injury that:

• occurred on or after 24 February 2022;
• occurred in the territory of Ukraine, within its internationally recognised borders, including territorial waters;
• was caused by the internationally wrongful acts of the Russian Federation in or against Ukraine.

The Board has stated its intention to address, as a matter of urgency, the collection and recording of claims from individuals who have been most affected by the war, as well as claims related to critical infrastructure of Ukraine. However, work is also ongoing to address other categories of claims to be brought by Ukrainian authorities, businesses, and other legal entities.

The Register expects as many as 6-8 million claims, possibly up to 10 million. This would be by far the most of any comparable reparation mechanism. The Register’s organisation and operations are designed keeping in mind the practical need of managing such a large number of claims and a vast volume of evidence.

It is important to understand that the Register is not a court, a tribunal, a claims commission, or a compensation fund. It will not examine the claims it receives on their merit, assess their value, or order any payments.

These will be the functions of a future international compensation mechanism that is yet to be established. The Register is just the first step towards such a mechanism. The work on the establishment of the compensation mechanism has already begun and the Register's mandate includes facilitation of the ongoing efforts to establish this compensation mechanism.

Once the compensation mechanism is established, the work of the Register will continue as part of this new structure, and all the recorded claims and evidence will be transferred to it.

When submitting their claim(s), claimants must recognise and accept that it will take time before such a compensation mechanism is established, and since it is a complicated multilateral process, it is impossible to make projections on timing. The Register will provide regular updates on the progress of this work.

The Register will ensure data protection of claims and information submitted with due regard to strict confidentiality, in accordance with Article 11 of its Statute.

When submitting claims to the Register, claimants will be required to explicitly consent to the collection, processing, storage and transfer of their personal data and confidential information to the Register. They will be informed of the purpose of personal data processing by the Register.

The collection, processing, and transfer of personal data and confidential information from Ukrainian registers and databases to the Register will only be carried out based on the explicit consent of the persons in question and in strict accordance with the requirements of Ukrainian laws on data protection, as well as GDPR, and in application of the best standards and practices of personal data handling and protection.

A separate set of Rules on Personal Data Protection and Privacy will also be adopted in the near future and the Register will publish these Rules once adopted.

Submission of claims will be conducted exclusively in digital form. Claims are to be submitted through the Ukrainian application Diia  – either via the mobile application or the web portal. Detailed explanations and instructions on how to submit claims will follow shortly.

All natural and legal persons, as well as the State of Ukraine (including its regional and local authorities, and State-owned or controlled entities) may submit claims to the Register, as long as their claims are in line with the eligibility criteria.

Natural persons may submit claims themselves or through a representative. Legal persons, as well as the State of Ukraine (including its regional and local authorities, and State-owned or controlled entities) must submit their claims through a representative. Representatives may or may not be lawyers.

A claimant’s representative must be duly appointed and/or identified in Diia in accordance with Rules on the Use of Representatives that will be adopted in due course.

Claimants may submit more than one claim, including claims in different categories. Rules for particular categories may require, however, that only one claim can be submitted within that category.  Every claim must in any event specify the category in which it is submitted.

If multiple claimants wish to pursue a claim together, unless expressly allowed by the rules of a specific category, they must submit separate claims for their respective parts or shares of such a claim.

Currently, there is no set time limit to submit claims, as the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine is still ongoing, and damage is being inflicted on a daily basis. Eventually, the Register’s Board may establish reasonable time limits for submission of claims and/or determine the date from which the Register shall be closed for submission of claims.

Each category of claims will have a claim form containing a description of the information and evidence that claimants are required to submit, as well as additional information and documents that may be submitted to support the claim. All evidence must be submitted in digital format through Diia.

In general, claimants will be required to submit evidence about their identity, about the damage, loss or injury in question (such as what happened, where and when it happened, what was the cause etc), as well as provide other information required by the claim form. For example, if a claim relates to property, claimants will be required to prove that they are the rightful owner of the property in question.

Claimants will be able to supplement or amend claims with additional information and evidence through Diia.

The Board or the Secretariat may also request rectifications, clarifications and/or additional information and/or evidence from claimants.

The Register will cooperate with the Government of Ukraine to set up a network to support claimants in their submission of claims. Further details will follow.

No, there will never be a fee for the submission of claims.

Initially, claimants will have the possibility to submit claims only in Ukrainian. At a later stage, the possibility to submit claims in English will be added.

The Register will follow the Rules Governing the Submission, Processing and Recording of claims (“Claims Rules”), which will be adopted in the coming weeks. The Register will publish the Claims Rules on its website.

The Secretariat will review claims received against the eligibility criteria and prepare recommendations to the Board concerning the recording of claims in the Register.

The Board of the Register has the ultimate authority in determining the eligibility of claims to be recorded in the Register. Upon its consideration of claims, the Board may:

(a)           approve claims to be recorded in the Register;

(b)           reject claims, indicating which eligibility criteria have not been satisfied, and whether the rejection is “with prejudice” (preventing re-submission of the same claim), or “without prejudice” (allowing re-submission with additional information or evidence, or with deficiencies rectified); or

(c)           return claims for further processing by the Secretariat with instructions to the Secretariat that may include requesting rectifications, clarifications and/or additional information and/or evidence from claimants.

These decisions will be taken by the Board in accordance with its Rules of Procedure on the basis of evidence submitted by the claimant, taking into account the outcome of the processing and review of claims by the Secretariat and other information received by the Register, and recommendation of the Executive Director.

The Board’s decisions on claims are final and are not subject to appeal.

Claimants will be informed of the status of their claims through Diia, including where a decision with respect to the claim is made. Claimants should have no expectation of any other form of direct communication from the Register.

It depends on the reasons on which the Board’s decision to reject the recording of the claim was based.

If a claim was rejected by the Board “without prejudice”, it means that the claimant can resubmit it with additional information or evidence, or with deficiencies rectified.

If a claim was rejected by the Board “with prejudice”, it means that the Board has come to the conclusion that the claim does not correspond to one or more of the eligibility criteria, and it is not a matter of missing or incomplete evidence. Claimants will therefore be unable to resubmit the same claim.

A claim submitted to the Register may be withdrawn by the claimant through Diia at any time prior to the Board making a final decision. Withdrawal of a claim is without prejudice to its possible future re-submission to the Register. If a claim is withdrawn after the Board’s decision to approve such claim to be recorded in the Register, such claim will remain recorded in the Register, but will be marked as “Withdrawn”.

As of today, 43 States and the European Union have joined the Register – 40 as Participants and 4 as Associate Members.

Participants of the Register have full membership rights, including voting rights in the Conference of Participants, and they commit themselves to making annual assessed contributions to the Register’s budget.

Associate Members are not required to make annual contributions. They do not have the right to vote in the Conference but can participate and make written and verbal statements, and to receive all the information about the Register’s work. Associate Members are however encouraged to make voluntary contributions to the Register’s budget. If an Associate Member makes a contribution equivalent to their assessed contribution, had it been a Participant, they have full voting rights for the relevant financial year.

The Register’s membership is open to both Council of Europe member and non-member States.

Any State that voted in favour of United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/ES-11/5 “Furtherance of remedy and reparation for aggression against Ukraine” of 14 November 2022 can become a Participant or an Associate Member by notifying the Secretary General of the Council of Europe about their intention to join by a letter or a Note Verbale. Other States may also join the Register, subject to approval by the Conference of Participants.

The Register has the following governance bodies: the Conference of Participants, the Board and the Secretariat, whose work is overseen and administered by the Executive Director.

The Conference of Participants (COP), where each Participant and Associate Member of the Register is represented, is the top governing body of the Register. It holds the overall responsibility for the fulfilment of the Register’s mandate. The COP is tasked with filling key positions of the Register by appointing the members of the Board and designating the Executive Director. It approves the rules and regulations of the Register proposed by the Board and adopts the annual budget of the Register.

The COP met three times in 2023 and will come together for its fourth meeting in The Hague on 2 April 2024.

The Board has general responsibility for the exercise of the Register’s functions. Comprised of seven experts in the fields of international law, war damages and claims, accounting and loss assessment, the Board develops the rules and regulations governing the work of the Register and implements them after approval by COP. The Board also has the ultimate authority in determining the eligibility of claims to be recorded in the Register. The Board provides quarterly reports to the COP on the number of claims received and the number of eligible claims recorded in the Register, the relevant categories and the total amount of compensation sought (if applicable).

Board members are independent, work in their personal capacities and are not representatives of any Participant or Associate Member.

Seven Board members were appointed at the third meeting of the Conference of Participants on 16 November 2023: Mr Robert Spano (Chair), Ms Chiara Giorgetti (Vice-Chair), Mr Veijo Heiskanen, Ms Yulia Kyrpa, Ms Aleksandra Mężykowska, Ms Lucy Reed, Mr Norbert Wühler. The Board meets in person on a quarterly basis and virtually in between.

The Executive Director of the Register, Markiyan Kliuchkovskyi, was appointed on 1 July 2023 after being designated for this position by the COP at its first meeting. His key functions include organising the submission of claims, their processing and forwarding to the Board for decision making, along with recommendations, as well as liaising with national and international bodies, including the Government of Ukraine, on various matters related to the work of the Register.

He also has day-to-day responsibility for overseeing and administrating the work of the Secretariat of the Register, and together with the Secretariat – supporting the work of the Board and the COP.

The Register has its seat in The Hague, Netherlands, and will have a satellite office in Kyiv, Ukraine, for the purpose of liaising with the Government of Ukraine and facilitating outreach and contact with potential claimants and the public at large in Ukraine.

The Register’s budget is funded by contributions of its Participants and Associate Members. The investment costs related to the start-up of the Register and the development and establishment of its key systems and facilities are covered by voluntary contributions from the Netherlands and the European Union.