The International Court of Justice in The Hague will rule on Wednesday in a case brought by Ukraine against Russia. It’s about Russia’s justification for invading the neighbouring country. Ukraine wants the judges to determine that Moscow had no legal basis for the invasion.
Russia has accused Ukraine of genocide (genocide) against Russian-speaking, pro-Russian residents of the renegade regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. Moscow first decided to recognize the independence of those two regions and then invaded Ukraine. According to Russia, the raid (“special military operation”) was justified to protect the inhabitants.
Ukraine says there was no genocide at all and wants UN judges to determine that Russia therefore “had no legal basis whatsoever to take action in and against Ukraine to prevent and punish genocide”.
The International Court of Justice heard the case last week. Ukraine was the first to speak. Russia was given a chance to respond to it a day later but is not participating in the hearings.
The International Court of Justice is the supreme judicial body of the United Nations. It is located in the Peace Palace in The Hague. The judges in this case only consider the run-up to the Russian invasion, not the invasion and the war itself. The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, also in The Hague, is investigating whether war crimes or crimes against humanity were committed during the invasion.