Compensation for damage, loss or injury caused by the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine constitutes an integral part of a duty to provide war reparations, which after the World War II was transferred from merely inter-state relationships into responsibility of the state to bear legal consequences of its internationally wrongful acts towards all effected persons and entities. The obligation to make war-related reparations under international law is rooted in: (1) a violation of the jus ad bellum, namely an unlawful use of force in international relations; (2) a breach of international humanitarian law – a violation of the ius in bello; and (3) severe violations of international human right law in armed conflicts. The right to remedy and reparations for victims of such violations is currently enshrined in key international instruments of universal and regional nature. The human rights-oriented perspective of general international law as well as the needs-based approach to human rights implementation has been profoundly explored and brightly described by Prof. Petro Rabinovych, which is of а significant value to the topic of this research. The years of full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, alongside with other recent war conflicts around the world, drastically challenged the application of the abovementioned norms and principles of international law and the Post-World War II international legal order as such. Recalling the obligations of all states to maintain international peace based on freedom, equality, justice and respect for human rights, in its Resolution A/RES/ES-11/5 the UN General Assembly paved the way to establishing of an international mechanism for reparation for the aggression against Ukraine and the creation of an international register of damage as its first essential step. This article is aimed to identify key features of the Register of Damage for Ukraine as the first component of a future international compensation mechanism considering the characteristics of modern mass claims processing tools and to disclose substantial elements and principles of the victims-centred approach in Register’s work through human rights perspective. Being a unique ad hoc international instrument, the Register follows the key principles of warrelated mass claims processing tools, which typically refer to the tribunals, commissions and other mechanisms created to resolve disputes among large number of parties who suffered damages in the aftermath of armed conflicts or other international violent upheaval. They are impartial independent binding dispute resolution instruments established by international agreements. The Register has been created by enlarged partial agreement within the institutional framework of the Council of Europe, that ensures its international legitimacy and authoritative nature. The Register’s role is to assess and determine the eligibility of claims and to record eligible claims for the purposes of their future examination and adjudication by the Claims Commission which is yet to be established. Considering that victims of severe human rights violations may have very limited access to evidence, mass claims mechanisms apply lenient evidentiary standard (“relaxed standards of proof” for fact-finding based on a test of “plausibility”). In this connection, the Register applies a prima facie standard of review of the evidence and information when deciding on eligibility of claims. A defining feature of the Register of Damage for Ukraine as the first component of a future international compensation mechanism is an overarching victim-centred perspective. The victimcentred approach is rooted in principles of reparation under international human rights law (in particular, the principle of due recognition of victimhood; procedural principle of effective victim participation and the responsiveness of judicial and administrative processes to the needs of victims; due consideration of the victims’ situation in any given case and – more broadly – the principles of proportionality and non-discrimination). Considering the so-called Riga Principles, the victim-centred approach in the Register’s operations emphasises the importance of recognising and addressing the needs and rights of victims/survivors of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and ensures their active engagement in the claims process. It is specified through several fundamental principles, such as inclusivity, participation, security and accessibility. A victim-centred approach along with the human rights perspective are the cornerstones of every element of the Register’s work on its pathway to restorative justice.

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