PACE calls on states to redirect frozen Russian assets to compensate Ukraine via ECtHR decisions
On September 30, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution and recommendations urging member and observer states to take legal and practical steps to redirect frozen Russian state assets under their jurisdiction toward compensation payments to Ukraine based on European Court of Human Rights rulings in interstate cases. PACE described the redirection as a lawful countermeasure under international law and proposed creating a Council of Europe mechanism to receive those assets.
Key points
- PACE adopted the resolution and recommendations on September 30.
- PACE calls on member and observer states to redirect Russian state assets under their jurisdiction to a compensation financing mechanism once the ECtHR sets the amounts in Ukraine's interstate cases against Russia.
- PACE describes redirecting Russian state assets for these payments as a lawful countermeasure under international law.
- PACE proposes a mechanism under the Council of Europe to receive the redirected assets; it could operate separately or become part of a future compensation fund.
- Payments are being paid to Ukraine as compensation Russia owes it.
- The ECtHR has already established Russia's responsibility for serious human rights violations in two interstate cases brought by Ukraine, but has not yet determined the compensation amount.
- PACE says future payments could amount to 'tens or hundreds of billions of euros' given the scale of the damage.
- Since the full-scale invasion began, around 260 billion euros of Russian Central Bank assets have been frozen, of which roughly 210 billion euros are held in the EU.
- PACE calls on states and the EU to impose targeted individual sanctions against those responsible for the most serious violations recorded in ECtHR rulings and to apply universal jurisdiction.
- PACE also calls for preserving case materials on complaints against Russia, protecting the personal data of illegally deported Ukrainian children, and providing full information about these children through an appropriate international mechanism.
Why it matters
The resolution sets up a formal Council of Europe framework tying frozen Russian sovereign assets to compensation owed to Ukraine under ECtHR rulings, providing explicit legal cover by characterizing the redirection as a lawful countermeasure under international law. With the ECtHR having already established Russia's responsibility in two interstate cases and the eventual amounts potentially running into tens or hundreds of billions of euros, the mechanism would give practical effect to those rulings. By simultaneously urging targeted sanctions, universal jurisdiction, and preservation of evidence on deported Ukrainian children, PACE broadens the accountability toolkit beyond asset redirection alone.
What happened
On September 30, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution and recommendations calling on member and observer states to take legal and practical steps to redirect frozen Russian state assets under their jurisdiction toward compensation payments to Ukraine. The payments would be based on European Court of Human Rights decisions in interstate cases brought by Ukraine against Russia. PACE framed the redirection as a lawful countermeasure under international law. The Assembly proposed creating a mechanism under the auspices of the Council of Europe to receive the redirected Russian state assets; this mechanism could operate separately or become part of a future compensation fund. Funds paid out to Ukraine would be counted as compensation Russia owes it. The ECtHR has already established Russia's responsibility for serious human rights violations in two interstate cases brought by Ukraine but has not yet determined the amount of compensation. PACE indicated that, given the scale of the damage, future payments could amount to tens or hundreds of billions of euros. PACE also called on states to enforce ECtHR compensation decisions through national legal procedures as long as Russia refuses to pay, to introduce targeted individual sanctions and apply universal jurisdiction against those responsible for the most serious violations recorded in ECtHR decisions, and to preserve all case materials concerning complaints against Russia, protect the personal data of illegally deported Ukrainian children, and provide full information about those children through an appropriate international mechanism.
Background
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, roughly 260 billion euros of Russian Central Bank assets have been frozen, of which around 210 billion euros are held in the EU. Russia already owes more than 3.3 billion euros in unpaid compensation awarded by the ECtHR and refuses to execute ECtHR decisions or cooperate with Council of Europe supervisory mechanisms. Russia has an unconditional legal obligation to comply with ECtHR rulings on violations committed before September 16, 2022, and this obligation does not diminish over time and cannot be revoked by Russian legislation.