Legal mechanisms for the restoration of the right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions violated as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine from 2014 to the full-scale invasion

Abstract

The issue of the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is perhaps the most pressing on the agenda of not only Ukraine but the entire world. And one of the most practical aspects, which is also a challenge, is the issue of compensation for damages caused by Russia’s armed aggression. At the same time, it is important to consider the issue of such compensation not only in the context of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation on the 24th of February 2022, but also taking into account Russia’s territorial encroachment on the territory of Donbas and the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea since 2014.Therefore, the article is devoted to the analysis of the mechanisms for protecting and restoring the right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions in Ukrainian legislation developed in response to the violation of this right by the Russian Federation as part of its armed aggression starting from 2014 and until the 24th of February 2022.The author analyzes in detail the existing regulatory framework for the mechanism of compensation for damages since 2014 and compares it with the international law basis. In particular, the article discusses the disadvantages and advantages of the Decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On the Payment of Financial Compensation to Victims Whose Residential Buildings (Apartments) were Destroyed as a Result of a Military Emergency Caused by the Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation” No. 767 of the 2 September 2020, as well as the Draft Law of Ukraine “On Protection of Property Rights and Other Proprietary Rights of Persons Affected by Armed Aggression”.In the context of legal regulation of the restoration of the right to peaceful enjoyment of property violated since 2014, the author highlights the issues of the subjects, type of property, requirements for its territorial location for compensation, types of damages, feasibility of compensation amounts, the process of compensation, as well as the problem of non-extension of the envisaged regulation to the case of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, taking into account only damages in the territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.The author draws special attention to the international legal aspects of the problem of restoration of the right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions, in particular, to the incorrect terminology in national regulation which, by its effect, lies in the plane of international humanitarian law, the need for compensation by the Russian Federation as the aggressor who caused the damage, and not only by Ukraine as a State seeking to ensure the basic needs of its citizens grossly violated as a result of Russia’s territorial encroachment, and the need to include damages incurred since 2014 in the general compensation mechanism being developed to restore the right to peaceful enjoyment of possessions violated as a result of the full-scale invasion in 2022.