Live – War in Ukraine: ICJ declares itself largely competent to judge case on invasion of Ukraine

The ICJ declared itself largely competent to judge the case concerning the invasion of Ukraine

The UN’s top court said on Friday it has the authority to rule on most aspects of a case brought by Ukraine over Russia’s invasion, which began in 2022, in which Kiev has sought reparations. Ukraine filed a case against Russia at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague just days after the invasion began. Russian President Vladimir Putin partially justified the invasion with accusations of “genocide” orchestrated by Kiev in Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine filed an application at the ICJ, flatly denying the allegations and arguing that Russia’s use of “genocide” as a pretext for aggression violated the 1948 UN Genocide Convention. In a preliminary ruling issued in March 2022, the ICJ sided with Ukraine and called on Russia to immediately end its aggression. But Russia contested the ruling, saying the ICJ, which adjudicates disputes between states, had no legitimacy to judge the case.

The ICJ rejected Moscow’s argument on Friday, saying it had the authority to rule on the issue. However, Ukraine also said in its petition that the Russian aggression was itself a violation of the Genocide Convention. The ICJ said it did not have jurisdiction to rule on this part of the case.