Genocide case: Ukraine is waiting for its lawsuit against Russia to be considered on the merits

The agent of Ukraine at the UN International Court of Justice, Anton Korynevich, said that Russia used the court as a platform for propaganda, but the Ukrainian side hopes that a decision will be made in The Hague and that Ukraineʼs lawsuit against Russia will be considered on the merits.

Babel correspondent Oksana Kovalenko from The Hague reports this.

"It is the court that must decide this issue and determine whether it has jurisdiction over the case. It is important to us that we use this court as a court of law. We argue with international law and facts. We do not use it as a platform for political demonstrations and for propagandistic statements that are made in order to show them to the domestic society," said Korynevich.

According to him, Russia used the court as a propaganda platform, and "todayʼs co-agent of Ukraine perfectly mentioned this in his closing speech."

Korynevych added that within two weeks, the Ukrainian side provided all the information the court needed to make a decision and proceed to the stage of consideration of the case on its merits.

"We will wait for the pronouncement of court decisions and hope that the case will proceed to consideration of the merits. We believe that such a great interest of states [32 states spoke on the side of Ukraine], which showed that the interpretation of the Genocide Convention is indeed a matter for the international community, and we believe that this is also an important feature of this case," he emphasized.

Responding to journalistsʼ questions about when the courtʼs decision can be expected, Korynevych said that he was grateful to the court for the speedy justice it demonstrated.

"Therefore, we hope that the court will not lose speed in this case, realizing that it is actually very important not only for Ukraine, but also for the international community," the agent said.

• Ukraine filed a genocide lawsuit against the Russian Federation on February 26, 2022, two days after the start of a full-scale Russian invasion. The Kremlin accused Kyiv of "genocide" of Donbas residents and used it as a basis for the invasion on February 24, 2022.
• On September 18, the UN International Court of Justice in The Hague resumed hearings on Ukraineʼs claim against Russia regarding the Convention on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide.
• The Russian delegation had the floor on September 18 and tried to prove to the court that the court did not have jurisdiction to consider this case, and the subject of the dispute was allegedly absent. Ukraine performed on September 19 and 27.
• During the speech of the Ukrainian delegation, Anton Korynevych, Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, stated that the court has jurisdiction to consider the lawsuit against Russia. And he added that if the court proceeds to the merits of the case and makes a decision, it will affect other proceedings in various courts and instances related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the crimes it committed there.
• 32 countries appeared in court and joined the lawsuit on the side of Ukraine. This is an unprecedented number of countries in history: 34 UN members out of 193, that is, almost 20% participate in the process. The British representative believes that the UN International Court of Justice can consider the lawsuit.