This Friday, February 2, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared itself competent to judge the dispute between Ukraine and Russia, accused by kyiv of violating international law after the invasion of February 24, 2022.
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On Friday, February 2, the International Court of Justice (ICJ)the highest court of the UN, declared itself competent to rule on most aspects of a case brought by Ukraine in relation to the Russian invasion that began in 2022, in which Kiev demands reparations.
Ukraine filed the lawsuit against Russia before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), based in The Hague, a few days after the invasion began. Russian President Vladimir Putin had partly justified the invasion with accusations of “genocide”, allegedly orchestrated by kyiv in eastern Ukraine, where the language spoken is Russian.
Ukraine filed a complaint with the ICJ, categorically denying these allegations and arguing that Russia's use of the “genocide” argument as a pretext for the invasion was contrary to the 1948 United Nations Genocide Convention.
ICJ says it has no jurisdiction to rule on whether Russian invasion amounts to genocide
In a preliminary ruling, issued in March 2022, the ICJ sided with Ukraine and called on Russia to immediately stop its invasion.
But Russia opposed the ruling, arguing that the ICJ, which hears disputes between states, had no legitimacy to judge the case. On Fridaythe ICJ rejected Moscow's argument, declaring that it had jurisdiction to rule on the matter.
However, Ukraine also alleged in its lawsuit that the Russian invasion itself constituted a violation of the Genocide Convention. The ICJ declared itself incompetent to rule on this part of the case.
The court also declared that it did not have jurisdiction to rule on another point raised by Ukraine: that Moscow's recognition of the breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk violated the Convention.
“The Russian Federation would not have violated the convention, but rather the relevant norms of international law applicable to the recognition of States and the use of force,” said ICJ President Joan Donoghue.
The ICJ also this week dismissed much of Ukraine's terrorism case against Russia, brought in 2017, accusing Moscow of violating a United Nations anti-terrorism treaty by funding separatists in eastern Ukraine. The court found that Russia breached its obligation to investigate the matter, but rejected Ukraine's request for reparations and only ordered an investigation.
Additionally, the ICJ noted that Russia failed to protect the Ukrainian language in schools after annexing the Crimean peninsula in 2014.
Without means to enforce their decisions
The rulings of the ICJ are binding and unappealable, but they do notor has the means to enforce its decisions.
The court recalled that it had already urged Russia to “immediately suspend” its military operations, but that “the armed conflict continues to this day.”
More than 30 other countries – all Western allies of Ukraine – have supported kyiv in this case.
A final verdict in this case could take years. The ICJ has never found that an entire country has committed genocide, although it is hearing other cases on the topic, including a conflict between South Africa and Israel over the war in Gaza.
With AFP
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