International Court of Justice begins hearing Ukraine's genocide case against Russia
Vladimir Putin (Photo: EPA)

On Monday, the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague began hearings in the case of Ukraine against Russia on charges of violation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, according to a document on the court's website.

Ukraine filed a lawsuit against the Russian Federation at the beginning of the full-scale war, which argues that Moscow is abusing international law when it justifies a full-scale invasion by "preventing genocide."

Representatives of Ukraine will appear in court on September 19 and 26, and Russians will speak on September 18 and 25.

Kyiv also accuses the Russian Federation of planning acts of genocide and that the Russian military is deliberately killing representatives of the Ukrainian nationality.

In addition to Russia and Ukraine, 32 other countries are participating in the process.

REFERENCE. The International Court of Justice is the main judicial body of the United Nations (not to be confused with the International Criminal Court in The Hague). Court decisions are final and binding. If they are not fulfilled, parties can appeal to the UN Security Council, although the Russian Federation has the right of veto there. As early as March 16, 2022, the court had already ruled that Russia should immediately suspend hostilities until the trial began, but the verdict was ignored in Moscow. Last year, Yugoslavia was tried twice for genocide, and now the case against Myanmar is under consideration.

On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Commissioner for Children's Rights in the Russian Federation, Maria Lvova-Belova, for complicity in the abduction of children from Ukraine.

Russia declared that the issuance of the warrant was "illegal" and criminal proceedings were initiated against the court prosecutor Karim Khan and three judges.

On July 19, mass media reported that Putin will not participate in the BRICS summit in South Africa due to fears that South Africa will fulfill the ICC's arrest warrant.

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