- Analysis of the ICJ’s recent judgment on its jurisdiction in Ukraine’s case against the Russian Federation following the February 2022 invasion.
- Considers how Ukraine might approach the case, and notes the high threshold for intent.
After its much-observed order on interim measures of protection for Gaza, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has rendered a further judgment in a genocide case. The judgment concerns its jurisdiction in the action brought by Ukraine against the Russian Federation just two days after the armed invasion of 24 February 2022.
Ukraine v Russia
The judgment will have caused some consternation in Kyiv. The court removed the very essence of the Ukrainian case against the Russian Federation brought under Art IX of the Genocide Convention. The applicant alleged the Russian Federation wrongly claimed Ukraine had conducted a campaign of genocide against Russian speakers in its provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk in justification of its invasion. Hence, the Russian Federation could not lawfully take any action under the Genocide Convention in or against
