Russia has filed preliminary objections to a Ukraine-sponsored genocide case against Moscow, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said Thursday.
At the ICJ, the United Nations’ highest court for inter-state disputes, parties may file preliminary objections if they believe the court has no jurisdiction in a case.
An overview of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, the Netherlands, 9 December 2019.
(REUTERS / Eva Plevier / Photo file)
The filing, which the court tweeted Thursday that it received on October 3, was not made public.
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In a letter to the UN court in March, Moscow said the ICJ, also known as the World Court, had no jurisdiction because the genocide convention does not regulate the use of force between states.
The filing signifies a change in Moscow’s attitude towards the ICJ case. Russia is now engaging with the court, while it previously skipped hearings and did not file documents directly with the court.
The Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin and St. Basil’s Cathedral. Russia is now confronting the World Court, submitting preliminary objections to a case brought by Ukraine.
(REUTERS / Evgenia Novozhenina / File photo)
Ukraine filed a lawsuit with the ICJ shortly after the Russian invasion began on February 24, claiming that the justification stated by Moscow, which was taking action to prevent a genocide in eastern Ukraine, was unfounded.
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During hearings in March, Ukraine argued that there was no threat of genocide in eastern Ukraine and that the 1948 UN Genocide Convention, signed by both countries, does not allow for an invasion to prevent one.
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After those hearings, which Russia had skipped, the ICJ judges ordered Russia to stop the invasion of Ukraine as an emergency measure while examining the merits of Ukraine’s request.
The next step in the case will be a hearing on exceptions against the jurisdiction of the court. A date has not yet been set for such a hearing, but it is expected that it will be several months away.
