Time to act: why Russia's assets should help Ukrainians now

The Government of Canada has started preparing for the withdrawal of $ 25 million of Russian Podancial Oligarch Roman Abramovich. It sounds optimistic, but so far too careful. To achieve true efficiency, you need to act decisively and now. Hundreds of billions of dollars of sovereign assets of Russia and its citizens who are under the influence of sanctions are the main resource for compensation and compensation for losses to Ukrainians caused by the actions of the aggressor.

Assets should not only confiscate, but confiscate them to direct them to the compensation fund, which will be an integral part of the international compensation mechanism provided for by the UN GC resolution and the source of monetization of decisions of the compensation commission. In short, you need to quickly create a mechanism and the fund, confiscated for its filling the assets.

In the meantime, changes to the national legislation of countries should be introduced to make such confiscation possible when the mechanism is working. The main obstacle to this is the approaches that have developed in international law, which above all put immunity to the state on their property. But while the Western countries are hesitating, Ukrainians continue to suffer from rocket and artillery blows, military crimes of the Russians.

The precedent for the withdrawal of assets of the Russian Federation is not a change in the general rule of sovereign immunity, but rather its confirmation. Protection should be in those who comply with the adopted norms and not violate them, jeopardizing the whole world. The fact that governments publicly speak of the possibility of such a decision is an important indicator. But the discussion should be transformed into action.

Such a solution is important, both directly for the restoration of Ukraine and as a signal for the Russian Federation - they will have to put up with the fact that without the withdrawal of their troops and payments of reparations they will not be able to return to the table of negotiations and business relations. Russia challenged the world order and a global security system.

Tightening the adequate response is equivalent to the demonstration of weakness, which is what the Russian Federation is waiting. The Russian economy has a sufficient stock to "wait" sanctions, that is, the calculation of the aggressor country is that the world is gradually tired, the pressure will begin to weaken, and the business can again be conducted as before. This is what gives hope and confidence in the leadership of Russia.

The longer the discussion, fears and possible risks are spoken, the more confident the Russian Federation continues the war, killing Ukrainians. Leaving this without a reaction is a much more threatening precedent than another exception from the inviolability of foreign assets. Why one more? Because there are already such exceptions.

On July 10, 2018, the Colombia County decided that the exclusion from the expropriation of sovereign immunity in accordance with the Law on Foreign Sovereign Immunitones (FSIA) extends to the withdrawal of its own citizens by the sovereign property of its own citizens in the act of probable genocide. The same thing is Philipp v. Federal Republic of Germany, 894 F. 3d 406, 410-14 (D. C. Cir. 2018) (based on Simon v. Republic of Hungary, 812 F. 3d 127 (D. C. Cir.

And on February 3, 2021, the court unanimously decided that the exclusion of expropriation was applied only to the withdrawal of a foreign citizen's property, not to his citizens. This case shows that there are no unbroken norms, especially when it comes to the events of unprecedented scale, and Russia's attack is definitely that way. It will not be possible to play according to the rules from which your opponent laughs openly, and wait for him to suddenly think and listen.

Unfortunately, the aggressor country is still presented in the UN Security Council, still has nuclear potential, still receives dual-use sub-goods and kills Ukrainians daily. For serious victories in the legal and economic field of traditional tools is not enough. The commitment to complex bureaucratic procedures and the desire to constantly postpone the necessary solution is what makes the West weaker and allows Russia to retain power.

Recently, US President Joe Biden successfully commented on the Fake "Christmas Truce", allegedly declared by Russia. He then said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is looking for at least some oxygen. And this is a very accurate remark - Russia begins to suffocate, their attempts to bypass the sanctions and wait for concern from the EU and the US are gradually falling. But this means that the pressure should be increased now.