International Court of Justice opens hearings amid Russia’s appeal to dismiss Ukrainian genocide case by UN top court

« The International Court of Justice in The Hague, on Monday, opened its first of the five days of hearings as Russia’s legal team contests Ukraine’s legal team case, which alleges that Moscow abused the Genocide Convention.
Footage shows judges and members of both legal teams, including Director General for International Law of the Ukraine Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oksana Zolotaryova and Russia’s ambassador to the Netherlands Alexander Shulgin, arriving at the courtroom ahead of the start of the hearing.
Russian legal team reportedly called the Ukrainian case an ‘abuse of process’ and sought to convince the judges at the highest UN court to dismiss the claim.
According to local media reports, the court’s judges are likely to take months to conclude whether or not the case proceeds.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow. »



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