Slovakia approves joining the compensation mechanism for Ukraine over Russian aggression

The Slovak government approved the signing of the Convention on the establishment of the International Claims Commission for Ukraine. It is to determine the amount of compensation for damages, losses and harm caused as a result of Russian aggression.

The decision was made on September 2 at an off-site meeting of the Slovak government in Nitra. The Convention provides for the creation of an independent international commission headquartered in The Hague, which will consider and assess claims for compensation.

Ukraine and its state and local authorities, individuals and legal entities will be able to apply to the commission. Among other things, it concerns compensation for destroyed infrastructure, industrial facilities, real estate and other property.

The Commission will become the second element of the international compensation mechanism for Ukraine. The first is already working – the Register of Damage, where affected persons submit applications for harm from Russian aggression. The third stage in the future should be the establishment of a compensation fund from which payments will be made.

The commission's decisions on claims and the amount of due compensation will be final. At the same time, the commission itself will not have the authority to forcibly collect awarded funds through courts.

For the Convention to enter into force, it must be ratified by at least 25 participants, subject to the fulfillment of requirements for financing the work of the mechanism. As of the beginning of September, dozens of states, as well as the European Union, have signed the document.

For Slovakia, the government's decision does not yet mean the completion of the accession procedure. Since the Convention belongs to international treaties of a presidential nature, before its ratification it is necessary to obtain the consent of the National Council of Slovakia.

Last week, the Slovak government interrupted the consideration of this issue, which caused controversy within the country. The opposition party SaS suggested that the decision could be connected with Moscow's position. The Slovak Foreign Ministry denied this, and Prime Minister Robert Fico said on September 1 that he sees no obstacles to the country's participation in the Convention.

Materials from: TASR, Council of Europe, Government of Slovakia