THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) — The Ukrainian government has filed an application with the International Court of Justice, asking that it issue provisional measures against Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made the announcement in a statement posted to Twitter on Sunday morning, saying he expected the court to hold hearings “next week.”
The Hague-based court — sometimes referred to as the World Court — serves as the principal judicial organ for the United Nations, adjudicating alleged breaches of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, more commonly called the Genocide Convention.
Before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a large-scale invasion of Ukraine last week, he accused Kyiv of engaging in genocidal policies against Russian-speaking people in the eastern part of the country. There is no evidence that Ukraine was attempting to eradicate its citizens along the border with Russia and says the meritless accusation violates the Genocide Convention.
“It’s a very interesting approach,” Ori Pomson, a researcher in international law at the University of Cambridge, said in a phone interview. The crime of aggression — one country invading another — isn’t explicitly forbidden by the convention. It is outlawed by the U.N. Charter but neither Russia nor Ukraine have signed the so-called optional-clause declarations that give the ICJ jurisdiction.
Instead, it seems Ukraine is attempting to shoehorn its complaints to the treaty it has available. Despite widespread outrage over the invasion, Ukraine has few legal avenues to hold Russia to account for the war. Other legal experts called the approach “creative,” “innovative” and “resourceful.”
The pair have an ongoing case at the ICJ over Moscow's funding of rebel groups in eastern Ukraine and discrimination against an ethnic group in the annexed Crimea region. Those complaints were brought under two treaties: the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Both of those treaties require countries to attempt mediation before coming to the court, something the Genocide Convention does not.
Requests for provisional measures — essentially asking for an injunction — take priority in scheduling for the court. “The dates of the hearings on the request for the indication of provisional measures of Ukraine will be announced in a press release, once scheduled,” a spokesperson for the court told Courthouse News. In 2017, India filed a provisional-measures request in an effort to block the execution of a former Indian navy officer sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on espionage charges. It filed its complaint on May 8, and hearings were held on May 15.
Conveniently, the court is holding a final hearing in a dispute between Gambia and Myanmar on Monday afternoon, so it is likely most of its 15 judges would be available to hold hearings in short order. Whether Russia could manage to mount a response is another question. With European Union airspace closed to Russian aircraft and Russian banks cut off from international exchange systems, Moscow could have challenges even appearing at the court or hiring counsel. The court can proceed, however, regardless of whether Russia chooses to participate.
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