russia's aggression against Ukraine continues unabated, and the world continues to face attempts to change the status quo by force. In such circumstances, it is more important than ever to support and promote such fundamental values as the rule of law and respect for human rights. This was the key objective of the meeting of G7 Justice Ministers in Tokyo, Japan. The Ukrainian Minister of Justice, Denys Maliuska, joined the conference online.
The Minister of Justice of Ukraine thanked the G7 member states for promoting fundamental values through various important initiatives aimed at strengthening the rule of law and justice, as well as deepening interagency cooperation. He also underlined their active role in discussing the establishment and implementation of an international compensation mechanism to compensate for the damage caused by the armed aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine, as well as the creation of a relevant Register of Damage.
"Undoubtedly, the establishment of the Register of Damages is an important practical step to launch the entire compensation mechanism. But the overall goal is to obtain fair compensation for the victims at the expense of the aggressor and on clear legal grounds. I therefore call on you to intensify our joint efforts to establish a commission to review claims (compensation commission) and a compensation fund. In this regard, I invite you to join an active discussion on the development of proposals for the text of an international agreement that will form the basis of an international compensation mechanism that we plan to present to the G7 member states in the next few months," Denys Maliuska urged the meeting participants.
He said that Ukraine was currently looking for legal solutions that would form the basis for such an international agreement.
The optimal legal instrument for introducing a compensation mechanism to compensate for the damage caused by russian aggression against Ukraine is the possibility of using both russian sovereign assets and funds belonging to sanctioned persons involved in the armed aggression against Ukraine to pay compensation to victims through a compensation fund.
Denys Maliuska called on his international colleagues to strengthen cooperation between the competent authorities of Ukraine and the G7 member states to exchange information on the assets of sanctioned persons and control over them: "It is essential to find legal mechanisms at the national level that would allow the transfer of the real estate of sanctioned persons, as well as the sovereign assets of the russian federation located in the G7 countries, to the compensation fund.
This fund will become an integral part of a special compensation mechanism aimed at compensating the victims of the war and rebuilding Ukraine.
"Standing shoulder to shoulder, we will not give any terrorist state a single chance to destroy or undermine fundamental democratic values and freedoms, the rule of law, human rights and the fundamental rules of the international legal order. Only through joint efforts and a strong sense of unity will we be able to bring the russian federation to justice and demonstrate that no one can escape punishment for war crimes and other atrocities that are nothing more than an act against humanity," the Minister of Justice of Ukraine concluded.