British lawyer explains why Ukrainians should demand compensation from Russia in British courts

British lawyer Jason McCue, who advocates the idea of ​​“domesticating” Ukrainian civil lawsuits in British courts and other foreign jurisdictions, stated this in an interview with Ukrinform.

“To put it simply, the initiative is really promising. What is important for Ukrainians is that there are gaps in accountability. The first gap in accountability is that certain members of the Russian war machine, the private sector that keeps the kleptocracy alive and sustains its war economy through sanctions violations, are getting off scot-free. They are not being prosecuted, they are not being charged in any form. We need to try to find trials and prosecutions around the world to hold them accountable,” McCue explained.

No one from the Russian private war machine will be charged before the International Criminal Court in connection with the reparations payments. The crimes do not concern these actors, they are not the leadership of the Russian state, the lawyer added, explaining the importance of prosecuting all elements of the Russian war machine.

While Ukrainian courts can also rule on damages claims brought against the Russian private sector in Ukraine, the problem is that there are virtually no Russian assets left in Ukraine that could be recovered on behalf of the plaintiffs, McCue said. “So it’s a jewel on the shelf, a Pyrrhic victory. You can’t force that justice,” the British lawyer believes.

“Now the domestication initiative will pick up Ukrainian cases on a random basis and use the UK jurisdiction. We will convert it into a UK judgment and use that to execute the defendants’ assets not only in the UK but also in the EU and the US. This puts hundreds of billions of sanctioned private sector assets in the West at risk and the idea is that we are setting out a roadmap for the Ukrainians to follow,” explained Jason McCue.

As reported, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said at the high-level international conference “Together for Justice. Accountability for Attacks on Civilian Facilities” that the Russian invaders have committed 137,000 war crimes since the large-scale invasion and the punishments for them should not be less.