Russia submits objections to Ukraine genocide case before International Court of Justice

Russia has submitted preliminary objections to a genocide case against Moscow filed by Ukraine, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said on Thursday, October 6. Taking to its official Twitter handle, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) confirmed that it had received preliminary objections from Russia regarding the case related to allegations of genocide on October 3. However, the ICJ has not revealed the details of the objections filed by Russia. 

The International Court of Justice tweeted, "On 3 October 2022, the Russian Federation submitted preliminary objections in the case concerning Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russia) before the ICJ." In the next step in the lawsuit, the International Court of Justice will have a hearing on the objections. So far, no date has been set for the court hearing. Notably, Ukraine had filed a lawsuit against Russia in the International Court of Justice shortly after Moscow began its offensive in Kyiv. In the case filed in court, Ukraine said that Russia's justification for the military attack on Kyiv was unfounded.

Russia had claimed that it had launched a military offensive against Kyiv to stop the genocide in the eastern part of Ukraine. More than 40 European Union nations have supported Ukraine's application against Russia before the International Court of Justice. The application filed by Ukraine calls for establishing that Russia has no "lawful basis" to launch an offensive in Ukraine, according to the press release issued by ICJ. In the case, Ukraine claimed that Russia has "falsely claimed" that acts of genocide have taken place in Luhansk and Donetsk. Ukrainian authorities have accused Russia of planning "acts of genocide in Ukraine."

Russia did not attend ICJ hearings 

Earlier in March, Russia in a letter to United Nations said that the International Court of Justice did not have jurisdiction as the genocide convention does not call for using forces between states, The Guardian reported. Previously, Russia did not even attend the hearings of the International Court of Justice and did not file documents in the court. The decision of Russia to file objections comes at a time when its war with Ukraine continues for more than 200 days. In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions that were occupied by Moscow. 

Image: AP