Genocide case: ICJ resumes hearings of Ukraine's claim against Russia

On September 18-27, public hearings will be held of preliminary objections put forward by Russia, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

The hearings will be held in two rounds: Russia’s representatives will speak on September 18 and 25, and Ukraine’s team will have the floor on September 19 and 27.

The dispute concerns the interpretation, application, and enforcement of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

In a lawsuit filed against the Russian Federation with the UN International Court of Justice, Ukraine demands that Russia be held accountable for distorting the concept of "genocide".

Ukraine filed the suit on February 26, 2022, two days after Russia unleashed a full-scale incursion into the country.

The Kremlin had accused Kyiv of genocide, which Ukraine allegedly committed in Donbas, starting in 2014, and used it as a pretext for invading the country on February 24, 2022.

The parties, including the states that took the initiative to join the case, will present their respective positions.

A total of 32 states joined the case with their interventions. They will also take part in the court hearing. On June 5, 2023, the ICJ passed an Order confirming that the interventions of the 32 states are acceptable.

This is an unprecedented number of participating states in history: 34 of the 193 UN members, that is, almost 20 percent, are taking part in the trial.

The court will hold a hearing on jurisdiction, and if the ICJ finds that it does have jurisdiction over the case and that the claim is admissible in whole or in part, the next step is to hear the case on its merits.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Ukraine submitted to the secretariat of the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague a statement on the initiation of a case against Russia on the interpretation, application, and implementation of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

Since October 2022, the Russian Federation has raised preliminary objections to the Court's jurisdiction and the admissibility of Ukraine's application.

On March 16, 2022, the UN International Court of Justice ordered that the Russian Federation immediately cease its invasion of Ukraine.