On 16 December 2024, the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine organised in Kyiv and online the first working meeting of its Civil Society Coordination Platform attended by more than 80 organizations.
The Executive Director of the Register of Damage for Ukraine, Markiyan Klyuchkovskyi, gave a welcome speech and emphasized that this is the first important meeting of the Register of Damage with representatives of the civil society. The purpose of the platform is to work for people and all those affected by the war, so that everyone knows and understands what the Register is, its powers, claims submission requirements, etc. Also Mr. Markiyan emphasized that the Register works quite quickly, every month all plans become reality. So far, the Register Council has approved claims submission forms for all 45 categories, so in the future these forms will be submitted for approval to the Conference of Participants of the Register, the meeting of which is planned in January. Currently, claims can be submitted only for the category A 3.1 – Damage or Destruction of Residential Immovable Property. As of the day of the meeting, 832 claims submitted to the Register in this category were deemed acceptable. Access to submission of claims for other categories will be opened gradually as technical, legal and information preconditions are ready for each claim submission form. Also, the Executive Director of the Register metaphorically compared cooperation with NGOs to a “two-way street”, since the Register expects to exchange information with the public regarding problematic and most frequent issues faced by claimants and users of the register, with the aim of developing informative and explanatory materials and improving the functioning of the Register.
Director of the International Cooperation and Representation Department of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine Zakhar Tropin emphasized that the Ministry closely cooperates with the Register for a common cause, the first step in which became the launch of the Register. He also emphasized that the Register is only a part of the international compensation mechanism (ICM), the mandate of which is limited to accepting claims. At the same time, the ICM is conceived and implemented as a self-sufficient mechanism with a clear structure. National registers are auxiliary, supporting mechanisms but they should not conflict with the Register and be a sufficient basis for the ICM. Also Mr. Tropin emphasized that the very fact of submitting a claim to the Register does not yet guarantee 100% compensation, and therefore people should not have excessive expectations. Therefore, it is important to carry out explanatory work, and the Ministry of Justice is ready to contribute to this in every possible way.
Legal adviser to the Register of Damage, Iryna Kirieieva, also emphasized the importance of cooperation between the Register and civil society organizations, the need to convey complex legal information in simple and understandable language, and emphasized the importance of coordinated work to avoid speculation and spread of inaccurate information about the Register’s functioning. She called on all participants to use the Register’s website as the primary source of information about its rules of operation and implementation stages. She also voiced key procedural points, in particular: the importance of harmonizing terms in the rules of the register and national legislation, the obligation of claimants to familiarize themselves with the Claims Rules, as well as the fact that the right to submit claims is also available to persons who are currently in temporarily occupied territories, or territories where active hostilities are taking place.
Responding to the question of Marta Pankevych, a representative of ICO “Environment-People-Law”, about the approximate timeline for the opening of the Register for submitting claims in the category “Environmental Damage”, Ms. Kirieieva noted that there are no clear dates and order of opening possibilities for submitting claims. It depends on technical and regulatory readiness. However, usually the Register website posts announcements regarding next categories of claims to be opened for submission. Therefore, she once again urged to follow the updates on the Register website.
Participants of the event had the opportunity to briefly introduce their organizations and make suggestions regarding forms of cooperation. The moderator of the event, Head of the Kyiv office of the Register of Damage, Hanna Khrystova, concluded that the platform is a living tool, the main value of which is coordinated work so that all victims receive proper and sufficient information about the work of the Register, its mandate and the requirements for submitting claims. Therefore, Ms. Hanna called on all participants to take an active part in the work of the platform.
