The United Nations’ highest court is set to deliver a verdict on Friday regarding the case where Ukraine accuses Russia of violating international law. Ukraine claims that Russia justified its invasion to stop an alleged genocide, and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will decide if the case can proceed.
The case was brought by Ukraine days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Ukraine does not accuse Russia of committing genocide in the country, but claims that Russia violated the genocide treaty by using the alleged genocide of Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine as a justification for the invasion.
Moscow’s lawyers have requested the judges to dismiss the case, arguing that Kyiv’s legal arguments were flawed and that the court did not have jurisdiction over the matter. In response, Ukraine argued that there was no real risk of genocide in eastern Ukraine, where it had been engaged in fighting Russian-backed forces since 2014.
It has been alleged that Kyiv is using the case as a way to challenge the overall legality of Russia’s military action. More than two dozen European states, as well as Australia and Canada, have expressed their support to Ukraine by providing formal statements to the court, emphasizing that they believe the case should be allowed to proceed.
In March 2022, the court issued emergency measures in this case, demanding Russia to immediately halt its military operations in Ukraine. However, the court’s rulings, although legally binding, do not have a mechanism for enforcement, and some states, including Russia, have chosen to ignore them.
If the ICJ rules in favor of allowing the Ukraine-Russia genocide case to move forward, it could be several months before the court begins to hear the full case. Earlier this week, Ukraine achieved a small victory at the ICJ when the judges ruled that Russia had violated U.N. treaties relating to the financing of terrorism and discrimination in a different case that involved incidents from 2014.
(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout and Ros Russell)
