Ukraineʼs lawsuit against Russia: hearings regarding Crimea and Donbas have begun at the UN International Court of Justice

Author:
Liza Brovko
Date:

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) of the United Nations (UN) is holding hearings on Ukraineʼs lawsuit against Russia due to the latterʼs violation of two UN conventions. The lawsuit was filed by the Ukrainian side in 2017.

This was reported by the press service of the court on Twitter.

The case is entitled "Application of the International Convention on the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Ukraine vs. Russia)".

The first round of arguments began on June 6 with the presentation of the Ukrainian side. They will be presented during two three-hour sessions at the Peace Palace in The Hague.

The Russian side will present its arguments on June 8, and the second round is scheduled for June 12 (represented by Ukraine) and June 14 (represented by Russia).

The delegation from Ukraine is headed by the Ambassador-at-Large at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the main representative of Ukraine in matters related to the international legal prosecution of Russia Anton Korynevych. His deputy is a director of the International Law Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oksana Zolotaryova.

Ukraine filed a lawsuit at the UN International Court of Justice in January 2017. It was argued as follows: Russia violated the first convention, because it armed the puppet groups "DPR" and "LPR", and the second convention — with its policy towards non-Russian ethnic groups in the temporarily occupied Crimea.