World Court to rule on jurisdiction in Russia-Ukraine genocide case

The United Nations’ highest court will rule Friday if a case in which Ukraine has accused Russia of violating international law, by saying its invasion was launched to stop an alleged genocide, can move forward.
Ukraine brought the case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
While the case revolves around the 1948 Genocide Convention, Kyiv does not accuse Moscow of committing genocide in Ukraine. Instead, it says Russia violated the genocide treaty by justifying the invasion by saying it was needed to stop an alleged genocide of Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine.
In hearings in September last year, lawyers for Moscow urged judges to throw out the case, saying Kyiv’s legal arguments were flawed and the court had no jurisdiction.
Ukraine argued there was no risk of genocide in eastern Ukraine, where it had been fighting Russian-backed forces since 2014.
Moscow has said Ukraine is using the case as a roundabout way to get a ruling on the overall legality of Russia’s military action.