THE LATEST GLOBAL TRENDS, RISKS AND DEVELOPMENTS ON BUSINESS

The website for the Register of Damage for Ukraine has been launched

On 4 March 2024, the official website for the Register of Damage for Ukraine (the “Register“) was launched. The website features:

• information on the procedure for filing claims for damages;
• answers to frequently asked questions;
• news and events related to the Register’s activities;
• relevant documents.

What does the Register do?

The Register is tasked with receiving the claims and related evidence, as well as determining their eligibility. Eligible claims will be recorded in the Register for future examination and evaluation.

The Register will not evaluate the claims on their merit, assess their value, or order any payments. These will be the functions of an international compensation mechanism that will be established by a separate international instrument.

When will the Register start receiving claims?

The Register is planned to open for the submission of claims in April 2024.

• The submission process will initially be open for a single category of claims relating to damage and destruction of residential immovable property.
• Then the collection and recording of claims will be open for individuals who have been most affected by the war, as well as claims related to the critical infrastructure of Ukraine.
• Along with that, work is also ongoing to address other categories of claims to be brought by Ukrainian authorities, businesses, and other legal entities.

Who can submit a claim?

Claims to the Register can be submitted by individuals, legal entities and the State of Ukraine (including its regional and local authorities, and State-owned or controlled entities).

• 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. However, they must be duly appointed and/or identified in Diia under the Rules on the Use of Representatives that will be adopted in due course.

What kinds of claims can be submitted?

Claimants are expected to submit 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;
• and other categories as determined by the Board.

Which criteria should the claims meet?

For a claim to be recorded in the Register, it must relate 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.

Can claimants submit more than one claim?

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

Multiple claimants may pursue a claim together only if expressly allowed by the rules of a specific category.

Is there a time limit to submit claims?

Currently, there is no set time limit to submit claims, as the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine is still ongoing. 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.

How to submit claims?

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.

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.

There will never be a fee for the submission of claims.

What evidence is required for claims to be recorded in the Register?

Each category of claims will have a claim form. It will describe the information and evidence that claimants must 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 of their identity;
• evidence of the damage, loss or injury in question (such as what happened, where and when it happened, what was the cause etc);
• 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 request rectifications, clarifications and/or additional information and/or evidence from claimants.

How the claims will be processed?

At the second meeting of the Register Board (from 27 February to 1 March 2024), the Board adopted the first set of rules and regulations of the Register necessary to start submitting claims. It includes the Rules for submission, processing and recording of claims, categories of claims eligible for entry into the Register as well as the Rules on Conflict of Interest and Disclosure of Information by the Register Council Members. Once these rules have been approved by the Conference of the Participants, they will be published on the Register’s website.

The documents governing the Register’s operation are available here.

Who decides on the eligibility of claims to be recorded in the Register?

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

• approve claims to be recorded in the Register;
• 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
• 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.

The Board’s decisions on claims are final and subject to no appeal.

When and how will claimants be notified of the Board’s decision?

Claimants will be informed of the status of their claims through Diia. Communication with claimants is carried out exclusively through Diia and excludes any other form of direct communication by the Register.

Can claimants re-submit claims already considered not eligible to be recorded in 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”, the claimant can resubmit it with additional information or evidence, or with deficiencies rectified.
• If a claim was rejected by the Board “with prejudice”, the Board has concluded 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.

Can claimants withdraw their claims?

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”.

If you would like to know more about the international compensation mechanism, please contact Victoria Ivasechko.