On 29-30 August, a closed international conference ‘Seizure, Management and Recovery of Russian Assets for Compensation to Ukraine’, organized by CEELI Institute and the Institute of Legislative Ideas, took place in Prague.

Why is it important?

As noted by the Head of the Institute of Legislative Ideas Tetyana Khutor in her opening remarks, ‘It is obvious to most of us that the aggressor state and those involved in the aggression must pay for the destroyed lives, homes and businesses. However, an important question remains - will Russia pay? And it depends not on it, but on us.’ It is precisely to ensure that Russian money works for Ukraine and that efforts have been directed.

What was discussed and with whom?

During the 7 panel discussions, international asset management experts, presiding judges of Western countries, representatives of ministries of justice, and high-ranking officials from foreign countries, as well as representatives of the World Bank, the European Commission, the State Department, and the Register of Damages Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine shared their experience and plans to improve the implementation of sanctions against Russia.

The meeting of this level allowed to formulation of directions for further work of Ukrainian and foreign authorities on ways to compensate Ukraine for the damage caused by the war at the expense of the aggressor state. It also allowed to deepen the understanding of sanctions instruments, identify existing shortcomings in the legislation, and share experiencein improving them.

The ILI is proud to be part of the process of uniting Western partners and improving Ukrainian and international practices of bringing to justice those involved in crimes against Ukraine.

Soon we will reveal more interesting details about each session and the issues discussed.