ANPThe Peace Palace in The Hague, where the International Court of Justice is located
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 11:30
This week, a new series of hearings begins at the International Court of Justice in The Hague in the case that Ukraine filed against Russia shortly after the start of the war. This revolves around the Russians’ accusation that Ukraine has committed genocide in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, which, according to Moscow, justifies the war.
Ukraine denies the allegation and, conversely, accuses the Russians of wanting to commit genocide on its territory. Central to this is the interpretation of the 1948 Genocide Convention, which has been ratified by both Ukraine and Russia.
Ukraine has the support of 32 countries in this case, including all European Union member states (except Hungary), Canada and Australia. In a provisional ruling from March 2022, the court already determined that Ukraine did not commit genocide and ordered Russia to stop the fight in Ukraine at least for the duration of the trial, but Moscow did not comply.
Manipulate
The question in this case is actually whether the concept of genocide has been misused. “That is the core of the matter, and that is what makes it so interesting,” says Marieke de Hoon, lecturer in international criminal law at the University of Amsterdam, in the NOS Radio 1 News.
“It is not a matter of whether genocide has been committed or not. That is not the case, the International Court of Justice immediately said that. But is manipulating such a term also a violation of the treaty?” She points out that the outcome will be applicable to many international treaties.
“Russia said: ‘genocide has been committed, so it is war’. Of course it doesn’t work that way. You first have the obligation to properly investigate it. And then you can take individuals responsible to criminal court, but you You can’t just invade a country.” De Hoon calls it “very smart” what Ukrainian lawyers have done: setting up a lawsuit within a few weeks and taking it to court.
The International Court of Justice handles legal disputes between countries, in contrast to the International Criminal Court, which is also located in the Netherlands. There, individuals are prosecuted for, among other things, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The importance for Ukraine, says Marieke de Hoon, is to combat disinformation. The judgment of an authoritative institution may be taken into account. “It is the United Nations court that rules on this war. That is important because other states, on which Ukraine depends for arms support, can think: maybe something is going on there. And Russian soldiers can realize: maybe Isn’t this the war we think we’re fighting?
Lawyers for Russia will argue that the court has no jurisdiction to rule in this case. Judges are expected to take weeks and perhaps even months to determine whether the case can proceed. If so, it will likely take years before a final ruling is made.
2023-09-18 09:30:13
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