On September 20, 2024, the Supreme Court hosted a conference on “Ensuring the Unity of Judicial Practice in War-Related Cases” organized jointly with the OSCE Support Program for Ukraine

During the event, representatives of the Ukrainian Arbitration Association and the Institute of Legislative Ideas presented jointly developed Recommendations on ensuring fair trial standards in claims against the Russian Federation.

Bohdan Karnaukh, expert of the Institute of Legislative Ideas, emphasized the importance of proper justification of the reasons for the court decision, especially when determining the amount of compensation awarded. “Non-participation of the defendant in the case does not relieve the plaintiff from the obligation to prove the circumstances that form the basis of his claims,” the lawyer notes. The expert also emphasizes that the plaintiff must overcome a certain threshold of persuasiveness in terms of substantiating the amount of damage. This threshold is determined by the applicable standard of proof. Courts should avoid the approach that the amount claimed by the plaintiff is “automatically” accepted by the court.

Using the example of cases on compensation for non-pecuniary damage due to forced displacement, where plaintiffs often indicate the amount of 35 thousand euros, which comes from the case of Loizidou v. Turkey (no. 15318/89), Bogdan Karnaukh emphasized that such an amount should not be considered as a “standard rate” of compensation. In the Loizidou case, the amount was determined based on the specific circumstances of the case: the applicant lost access to ten plots of land with a total value of more than half a million euros, and the violation lasted from 1990 to 1997. Therefore, in each case, it is necessary to individually assess non-pecuniary damage based on the evidence and factual circumstances.

“Proper substantiation is a key factor in ensuring justice in this category of cases and a guarantee of future enforcement of Ukrainian court decisions in claims against the Russian Federation,” concludes Bogdan Karnaukh.