Compensation for material and moral damage as a result of the armed aggression of the russian federation

• Compensation for material damage
• Compensation for moral damage
• Business Indemnification
• How to get real compensation for damage from the russian federation

The war began in 2014 - it was since then that the topical issue of protecting rights and freedoms, compensating citizens for material and moral damage caused by the armed aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine arose. It was then that the processes of bringing the aggressor state to justice began to take shape, the losses caused to it were recorded, the legislation was gradually changed in accordance with the new conditions, and our state began to actively defend its position in the international arena, raising the issues of arrest, confiscation of the property of the aggressor country, possible further compensation damage, etc. These changes were rather sluggishly perceived both by other countries and by our domestic courts, which quite rarely made decisions against the russian federation for a number of reasons enshrined in the intricacies of legislation. And when the russian federation decided on a full-scale invasion, attacking us all over the territory and in different directions, using ships, aircraft, missiles and artillery, it immediately dawned on everyone that they needed to act more actively, which affected decisive changes in everything. Laws, legal practice, statements and actions of international partners - the whole world appreciated this suicidal spurt of the distraught aggressor, who was no longer even worried about signs of at least some adequacy. Now the possibility of compensation for material and moral damage, both for individuals and for businesses, has become more accessible.

Compensation for material damage

After the start of the full-scale invasion of the russian federation, the number of cases of destruction and damage to the property of Ukrainian citizens who fell under the blows of enemy troops increased significantly. Many clients contacted the Alibi law firm for advice on confirming the facts of a crime, filing lawsuits, informational and legal support for this area of work, and we have made it publicly available a statement about the commission of a criminal offense as a result of the aggression of the russian federation, which was useful to many visitors to our site. It is with this statement that a long legal journey begins, which should end with the receipt of compensation for destroyed / damaged property from the russian federation.

There are usually 3 options to consider indemnification issues - or in order

a) civil/economic proceedings by submitting a statement of claim to the court by an individual or legal entity, the owner of the property against the russian federation.
b) criminal proceedings by filing a statement of claim within the framework of criminal proceedings opened on the fact of committing crimes as a result of the aggression of the russian federation.
c) administrative compensation by the state of Ukraine

In a full-blown war, neither option is legally ideal.

A) So in civil/economic proceedings, the plaintiff - the owner of the property files a lawsuit against the state of the russian federation for the recovery of funds and at the same time he is obliged to provide evidence confirming the fact of harm, its size and guilt in its commission of the russian federation. Thus, in the conditions of hostilities during the war, it is the owner of the property who bears the burden of proof - collection, legalization, payment of expenses.

An indicative list of supporting documents justifying the infliction of material damage:

• • Information certificate from the State Register of Rights to Real Estate (Register of Ownership Rights to Real Estate, State Register of Mortgages, Unified Register of Prohibitions on Alienation of Real Estate Objects, etc.)
• • Property Damage Act
• • Act of the State Emergency Service
• • Statement on the commission of a criminal offense, Extract from the ERDR on the opening of criminal proceedings, the protocol of the inspection of the scene of the incident drawn up by the pre-trial investigation body
• • SBU response (on establishing the fact of bombing/rocket attack)
• • Photos, videos of property destruction/damage
• • Contractor's agreement (on the performance of repair, construction, etc.) receipt of payment and acceptance and transfer of work
• • Supply contract (on the delivery of goods necessary for the performance of work) and receipt of payment
• • Cashier's receipts (purchase in stores of goods necessary for restoration work)
• • Expert opinion on the causes and amount of damage, sales receipts, work contracts, bank transfer statements, etc.

The russian federation becomes the respondent here, thanks to the revolutionary changes in judicial practice that occurred after the Supreme Court ruled in case No. , and if a dispute arises on the territory of Ukraine between a citizen of Ukraine and a foreign country, then it can be considered and resolved by the court of Ukraine as a proper and competent court. Thus, if the russian federation is identified as the defendant, then when considering the case, the court will ignore the immunity of this country, which allows satisfying the claims of citizens who have suffered from its aggression on the territory of Ukraine.

Another interesting detail from this resolution is the conclusion that, starting from 2014, there is no need to send requests to the Russian Embassy in Ukraine for the consent of the russian federation to be a defendant in cases where the issue of compensation for harm in connection with the commission of armed aggression by the russian federation is decided against Ukraine. And from February 24, 2022, such a shipment is generally impossible, even taking into account the termination of diplomatic relations between Ukraine and the russian federation, which, in conclusion, greatly simplified the consideration and decision-making by the courts in favor of the affected citizens of Ukraine. Therefore, now there is an opportunity to file a civil claim against the russian federation for compensation for material damage and a fairly high chance of obtaining a court decision obliging to recover from the russian federation in favor of the victim the entire amount indicated in the claim. In addition, for claims against the aggressor state of the russian federation, when considering a case in all judicial instances, the plaintiffs are exempted from paying the court fee, in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On Court Fees”.

B) In criminal proceedings, the victim has the right during criminal proceedings before the start of the trial to bring a civil claim for the recovery of money, and the court, when issuing a guilty verdict, satisfies this claim in full, in part or denies German The legal basis for compensation here is usually considered Art. 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of the laws and customs of war), which prohibits belligerents from inflicting excessive harm on the peaceful (civilian) population that is not caused by urgent military necessity. In fact, the collection of evidence on the fact of damage, the amount of damage, the guilt of the state of the russian federation is assigned to the investigator / prosecutor and is carried out at the expense of the state of Ukraine, which is a plus for the owner of the property. At the same time, the investigation of criminal proceedings can take years, which is a significant disadvantage.

B) A non-standard way of obtaining compensation for damage caused by the owner of the property is to receive compensation from the state of Ukraine, and not from the russian federation. This compensation applies only to real estate.

What you need to get compensation for destroyed property

In order to receive compensation for destroyed housing, the applicant must submit an application to the commission, which will be authorized to consider issues in the relevant territory. The application can be submitted through the portal "Diya" or in paper form through the center for the provision of administrative services, social protection authorities and a notary.

The application should be supplemented, depending on the category of the object: a copy of a document confirming ownership or a copy of an agreement confirming investment in construction, a copy of an agreement confirming the purchase of an apartment / house; documents (including photo and video recording materials) of the real estate object before/after destruction (if any).

Applications for each destroyed real estate object are submitted separately. That is, if, due to the aggression of the russian federation, a person lost, for example, a house and an apartment, then an application must be submitted for each object separately.

The issue of receiving / not receiving compensation will be decided by commissions. The commissions have a month to consider documents from applicants for compensation. This period can be extended for another 30 days if your former property is located in a territory where hostilities continue or this territory is temporarily occupied (surrounded). The heirs of the owners of the destroyed property will be able to receive compensation after they receive a certificate of inheritance.

Who can get compensation

The legislator has given priority in obtaining compensation for damaged/destroyed housing to combatants and mobilized. Probably, in this way, the deputies want to further stimulate voluntary mobilization in Ukraine, because the number of volunteers in the army has decreased significantly.

In addition to them, compensation for damaged/destroyed housing is claimed by: owners of damaged/destroyed real estate, including country houses; people who, for example, bought an apartment on an installment plan, and because of the aggression of the russian federation, it ceased to exist and Ukrainians who invested in the construction of a damaged or destroyed house.

Heirs of homeowners may also apply for compensation. “We understand that among the owners of destroyed housing there are missing people, there are those who died in the occupied territories. This complicates the legal registration of the right to inheritance. Therefore, the parliament went to meet the heirs and provided for the appropriate norm in the law. But our compatriots who have become sanctioned or received a sentence for high treason do not receive compensation even in the event of loss of housing. According to the law, recipients of compensation cannot be:

1) persons subject to sanctions in accordance with the Law of Ukraine "On Sanctions";
2) persons who have a criminal record for committing criminal offenses under Section I "Crimes against the foundations of the national security of Ukraine" of the Special Part of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (high treason, etc.);
3) heirs of damaged/destroyed immovable property that belonged during their lifetime to the testators specified in clauses 1 and 2 of this part.

It is also possible to refuse to receive compensation for those who “overslept” the deadline for submitting an application for compensation or if it turns out that he provided false data about the “destroyed” property.

The decision to grant or refuse compensation must be approved by the executive committee of the relevant local council or the military or civil-military administration. The applicant can see a copy of the decisions in the register of damaged and destroyed property within five days after approval.

How will the destroyed house/apartment be compensated and at whose expense

The legislator has provided several options for compensation for destroyed property. If you have lost your dacha or manor house, the state will pay monetary compensation, which will be transferred to an account with a special mode of use (for certain purposes). These funds can only be spent on the construction of a new country house.

Alternative compensation option - residential certificate.

But if Russian shells and missiles deprived you, God forbid, of your apartment, then, in this case, you will receive only a housing certificate from the state. No other option is provided. At the same time, it is possible that the recipient of compensation will have to pay extra for new square meters. The difference between the actual value of the property and the amount for which the housing certificate was issued is paid extra at the expense of the recipient of the compensation. At the same time, in the future there is a chance to receive compensation at the expense of the russian federation.

However, a housing certificate is not synonymous with guaranteed square meters. In order to turn their certificate into money that can be spent on new square meters or the construction of a new home, the person who has lost their home must apply to a government-authorized institution with an application that can be submitted on paper or through the Diya application. In the case of applying for compensation by a person representing the interests of the recipient, such a person must submit a document confirming his authority. It will be possible to apply for money for new housing within five years from the date of receipt of the housing certificate.

There are 10 days to consider the appeal of a person who has lost housing or other real estate to institutions. However, the period may be extended indefinitely if the institution lacks money. That is, in practice, compensation from the state will come to Ukrainians who have lost their property or housing is unknown when.

How to compensate for damaged property

If your property is damaged due to the "activities" of the occupiers, then it is supposed to provide the building materials necessary for restoration or construction work. Comprehensive assistance is also possible, when, at the expense of donors or the state budget, or, for the time being, fantastic reparations from the russian federation, Ukrainians whose property was damaged by missiles, shells and other rubbish of the occupying country will restore it. Compensation for a damaged real estate object is provided by performing works related to construction on a damaged real estate object in order to restore it (including the development of design documentation for construction, its examination, construction work) and / or the provision of construction products for execution such works.

We hope that the information provided on compensation for material damage caused by the russian federation is sufficient for drawing up and filing a lawsuit, and if you still have questions on this topic, we suggest that you contact the Alibi law firm for advice. In addition to this consultation, we will be happy to help with individual services, such as obtaining certificates from registers, extracts from the ERDR, responses from the relevant authorities using lawyer requests, as well as with full legal support and full protection of your interests. We also propose to consider the topic of compensation for moral harm, because in cases of armed aggression by the russian federation, this is a completely acceptable and understandable solution.

Compensation for moral damage

Moral harm to the citizens of Ukraine as a result of the armed aggression of the russian federation has been inflicted since 2014, but on the morning of February 24, 2022, a real horror occurred that was forever imprinted in the memory of every Ukrainian - a full-scale invasion began, with missile and bomb attacks on the facility and civilian infrastructure, accompanied by the enemy crossing our borders and killing both military personnel and peaceful men, women and children. Moral harm was inflicted on everyone without exception, and an acceptable and understandable question arises for its compensation.

As with cases of compensation for material damage, we have prepared on our website template of a claim to the russian federation for compensation for moral damage from a migrant and from a citizen who remained in the territory of hostilities or in the temporarily occupied territory - both document templates were actively used by site visitors as the basis for real lawsuits.

Just as with material damage, the decision of the Supreme Court in case No. 308/9708/19 will come in handy, on ignoring the immunity of the country, and also that there is no need to send requests to the Russian Embassy in Ukraine for consent to be a defendant on cases related to the commission of armed aggression by the russian federation against Ukraine. Although, as practice shows, these issues are still debatable and some courts even now do not accept these innovations, so you need to keep in mind, but these are mostly isolated cases.

It is interesting to justify the infliction of moral harm, where in the case of migrants, the unconditional proof of getting rid of murder and bodily harm is the departure from the permanent place of residence / registration where military operations take place to a safer settlement. An IDP certificate obtained at the same time or refugee/temporary protection status from a foreign state, which identifies it as an injured person, a victim of war, etc. - this is one of the documents confirming the infliction of moral harm. As for other persons who remained in the war zone or temporarily occupied territories, the confirmation is the registration of the place of residence in these territories. That is, having IDP or refugee documents, or registering a place of residence in territories defined as temporarily occupied, encircled (blocked), or in which active hostilities are taking place, may be quite sufficient to confirm the receipt of moral harm in court, which could manifest itself , for example, in the loss of a normal peaceful life without daily fears for one's life and the lives of relatives, for the safety of property, for the safety of movement around the settlement, etc. If the plaintiff was a witness of hostilities, shelling, casualties, deterioration of the humanitarian situation, he had to adapt to new living conditions, live in bomb shelters, restore an acceptable standard of living for himself - all this should be indicated in the claim.

The price of the claim is usually indicated as the hryvnia equivalent of 35,000 EUR - this is the amount based on the amount of satisfied similar claims of applicants in similar disputes that were considered by the European Court of Human Rights. In our case, this is based on the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Luizidou v. the Republic of Turkey (CASE OF LOIZIDOU v. TURKEY (Article 50), (40/1993/435/514), 28 July 1998), where the Republic of Turkey must pay compensation to the plaintiff in the amount of 20,000 Cypriot pounds (as of 01.01.1998, the European Union, in preparation for the introduction of the single currency EU-euro, proceeded from the ratio of 0.585274 Cypriot pounds to 1 euro, and this ratio was relevant at the time of consideration by the European Human Rights Court) - that is, Ukrainian courts generally recognize the amount of 35,000 EUR in hryvnia equivalent as sufficient and fair compensation for the moral damage caused to the plaintiff.

It is also interesting that the courts classify the illegal actions (constant shelling) of cities like Kharkiv as “generally known circumstances” that are not subject to proof. That obtaining the consent of the russian federation to be a defendant in this case is “inappropriate”, given that martial law has been introduced in Ukraine in connection with the ongoing full-scale armed aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine. But there are also cases with almost the same claims, the issuance of opposite decisions by the courts. The refusal is justified by the fact that there are no mechanisms or other interstate agreements between Ukraine and the russian federation, and the existing international and national legal acts do not contain provisions on the emergence of the temporarily displaced person's right to compensation for moral suffering. We considered this case earlier in the article. «Top 10 interesting court decisions related to martial law and mobilization in Ukraine. Part 2»

In the media, you can find many interesting cases on the court decision on compensation for damage to the russian federation. In one of them, the victim was pregnant at the time of February 24, 2022 by a woman who lived in Kharkov. Being 9 months pregnant, due to constant shelling and bombing, the plaintiff got stressed and feared for the fate of her newborn child - she hid in bomb shelters, ate poorly, was deprived of normal sleep and proper medical care. After some time, she was forced to go to Ivano-Frankivsk, where she began a premature birth and subsequently the doctors had to perform a caesarean section on her, thus speeding up the birth of the child, because at that moment an air raid alert was announced. There is also an interesting case of compensation for moral and material damage, which the court decided to recover from the aggressor state in favor of the plaintiff from Krivoy Rog. She attributed the expropriation of the natural resources of the Ukrainian people by the russian federation during the illegal armed aggression against Ukraine to property damage, and according to the Constitution, natural resources are objects of the right of ownership of the Ukrainian people. It turns out that every citizen of Ukraine thus received property damage, because he cannot own and dispose of his property and property rights, including the right to natural resources, and therefore, after a detailed justification, there was a general picture of compensation, satisfied by the court, and this material damage in the amount of UAH 24,583,718.34. and moral damage in the amount of UAH 1,259,300. (total UAH 25,843,018.34)

Alibi Law Company helps its clients to obtain a court decision on compensation for moral damage as a result of the armed aggression of the russian federation in many ways. If you want us to consider your particular case in more detail, suggest with the sufficiency of the available documents or how the judicial practice has developed in relation to such cases, please contact us both for advice and for full legal support. The most popular option for working with our clients is when the plaintiff does not even appear at the court session, submits an application for consideration of the case without his participation, the claim is supported and there is no objection to the trial in absentia. In these circumstances, there is a high probability of obtaining a court decision on compensation for moral damages from the russian federation comfortably and without affecting the usual schedule or other planned business of the client. We also have experience in compensating for damage caused by military actions of the russian federation for business representatives, which should also be considered in detail.

Business Indemnification

To date, it is difficult to imagine a business that has not suffered damage as a result of the aggression of the russian federation. Since February 24, warehouses, industrial enterprises, car parks, etc. have been the favorite target of Russians. Many business assets were destroyed and damaged, a sufficient part of which was trivially looted, some remained in temporarily uncontrolled territory, which made it impossible to use them, it is also advisable not to forget about forced downtime, destroyed supply chains and lost profits. Clients of the Alibi law firm, who are business representatives, also actively involve us in the work on possible compensation for damages - and thus we have formed answers to the most popular questions that will be of interest to visitors to our site.

Jurisdiction

Legal entities and individuals-entrepreneurs file claims with the economic court. In economic proceedings, claims are filed with the court at the location of the defendant, but in exceptions to the general rule, for example, in disputes over real estate, claims are filed at the location of this property. Therefore, if a claim regarding the destruction or damage to real estate - should be filed with the appropriate economic court at the location of such property. But it should be noted that some courts still send cases under jurisdiction to the Economic Court of Kiev, justifying this by the fact that there is the last registered location of the embassy of the russian federation, although this is rather strange.

In cases where real estate is the property of an individual, and he transferred it to the use of an enterprise, he has the right to file claims with local general courts.

If the court or property is located in the temporarily occupied territory, then it should be noted that, despite the war, the state guarantees its citizens the right to judicial protection, and for this, the judicial authorities "temporarily moved" to the territories under their control (for example, the Economic Court Kherson region was transferred for jurisdiction to the Economic Court of Odessa region).

Defendant

After analyzing the information on judicial practice, one can find many options for determining the defendant (for example, the russian federation represented by the Ministry of Justice of the russian federation, the russian federation represented by the Embassy of the russian federation, the russian federation represented by the Ministry of Defense of the russian federation, etc.), but for now At the moment, we believe that the best option in cases of business damages will be precisely “the russian federation represented by the Ministry of Justice of the russian federation”, because this organization is precisely the competent body that is authorized to exercise the authority to represent and protect the interests of the russian federation in connection with today's circumstances. But, indicating any other body in the statement of claim, this will not affect the correctness of the definition of the defendant, because the russian federation remains the proper defendant.

How to inform the defendant about filing a lawsuit in court if the mail service is terminated and diplomatic relations are severed? According to judicial practice, it is possible not to report, and there are different interpretations of the reasons for this, from “impossible” to “inappropriate” - and this will not interfere with the consideration of the case by the court in the vast majority of cases. But in order to minimize the risks as much as possible, you still need to inform the respondent in such ways as:

• • send an e-mail, duly certifying and completing proof of sending (together with attachments and addresses of the recipient and sender)
• • send a copy of the application with attachments from abroad

Regarding the chosen defendant "the russian federation represented by the Ministry of Justice of the russian federation", an acceptable option is to send a letter to the mailbox "pr@minjust.gov.ru", since this is the official e-mail (address) of the Ministry of Justice of the russian federation, established and quite often found in jurisprudence. This is also important because in the future it is quite possible that this court decision will be enforced in foreign courts, and they usually pay attention to such points, so compliance with all procedural conditions in the future will eliminate the possibility of a problem with the execution of a court decision.

Claims

The most common claims are the following, which are essentially identical:

- about compensation for harm
- on compensation for damages
- claiming damages

We recommend determining the amount charged as part of the claim, with reference to the currency equivalent - this is important due to the devaluation processes of the hryvnia and the possible rather long period of consideration and compensation in the future.

And as noted above, the plaintiffs are exempted from paying the court fee when considering the case in all courts on claims against the aggressor state of the russian federation. There are many examples of positive court practice, and more and more proceedings are being opened on claims in the russian federation - so if you do not hesitate, you can get a court decision on accepting the recovery of damages or compensating for the damage caused from the russian federation in certain amounts, which will contribute to further actual compensation.

How to get real compensation for damage from the russian federation

And let's move on to a rather topical issue - having a court decision on the recovery of compensation in favor of the plaintiff, how can one actually receive such compensation from the russian federation? This question is still open.

That is, there are currently no clear and understandable procedures for compensation for harm. Based on history, it can be noted that during the war, the owner of damaged or destroyed property was left alone with his problems. The state of which he was a citizen could provide him with assistance or compensation, fully or partially compensating for the damage - and in this direction Ukraine is just beginning its journey. Everything depends on the availability of sufficient financial resources for this. And during the war, when the fate of the people, its future or complete destruction is being decided, then this is not yet the time. In theory, if the state wins the war, it will receive reparations or indemnities, reduce the cost of the military campaign, and then it will be possible to provide its citizens with such compensation.

Even in history, there were cases of reparations being paid both to the state and to a public organization. It was the Reparations Agreement of 1952, concluded between the government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the government of Israel, according to which, in addition to paying reparations to Israel, the Federal Republic of Germany had to pay reparations in favor of the public organization "Conference on the Material Claims of Jews against Germany", created in 1951. There were also cases of state compensation payments in favor of individual individuals, so after the collapse of the USSR, the FRG paid compensation to people who were taken to Germany for forced labor or became prisoners of German concentration camps during World War II - but these were voluntary cases of decisions by the authorities of the German state, before this loser in the war.

The creation of the European Court of Human Rights once made a breakthrough in the relationship between states and the individual - now it has become possible to resolve disputes with a state that has somehow violated human rights. A legal instrument has appeared to protect one's violated rights due to a lawsuit against the state whose troops caused damage to a person, but due to a number of restrictions related to the regulations and its practice, the use of such a method of protection is impossible for most plaintiffs. In addition, the russian federation withdrew from the Council of Europe, ceased to be a party to the European Convention on Human Rights, due to which the European Court of Human Rights ceased to consider new complaints about the armed aggression of the russian federation (since September 16, 2022)

In the legislation of most countries of the world there are rules on criminal liability for war crimes, among which there are violations of the laws and customs of war against civilians, which in theory makes it possible to file a civil lawsuit in criminal proceedings, as well as the possibility of obtaining compensation. But, as noted above, it is still not clear where there will be an urgent military need to destroy, for example, a house, and where exactly there will be a war crime. In addition, if war crimes committed by servicemen of the other side are being investigated, this already raises doubts about the bias of the investigation. The system of international criminal justice for war crimes has not yet been created, and the current practice of creating international military tribunals relates to individual armed conflicts that were of an emergency nature, consolidated the international community and, as a rule, it took place after the defeat of a state in a war.

But the current situation is unique. The fact of committing military anger of the russian federation was obvious and condemned by most states of the world. Dozens of countries have imposed economic sanctions, and both the assets of the aggressor state and those associated with the government have been arrested. The size of these assets is sufficient to compensate for the damage both to Ukraine and its citizens, but so far there is no possibility of such compensation due to certain international legal norms and national legislation of individual countries.

Substantial changes are needed in the procedural laws of the respective countries or the application of a completely different approach, namely the establishment of the legal liability of the aggressor for any harm caused to the civilian population as a result of initiated hostilities, which theoretically could be introduced by the UN Security Council or a special session of the UN General Assembly and in this case, the property of the state of the aggressor, located on the territory of other countries, can be used to compensate for losses. It should also be understood that Ukraine is most interested in resolving this issue, it must set an example for other countries and include in its laws new rules that allow the application of the compensation mechanism and share the experience of the new mechanism with other countries, starting a chain reaction and creating the basis for the impossibility of such wars in the future. We hope it happens. But for now, let's not forget to bring us closer to the Victory, after which, quite possibly, all these processes will become much easier. And if you have any questions on this topic, please contact the Alibi law firm for advice!

P.S Currently, citizens of Ukraine on all court decisions won on the recovery of material or moral damage from the state of the russian federation receive enforcement letters in national courts and open enforcement proceedings in the state executive service in Kiev, which should find the assets of the russian federation at the expense of which the damage will be compensated.

Useful links:

• Building damage claim
• Claim against the russian federation for the recovery of damages for housing and other property
• A lawsuit against the russian federation from residents who remained in front-line or occupied cities