Ukraine’s worldwide allies are making authorized arguments in assist of Kyiv’s case in opposition to Russia on the UN’s high court docket
ByMIKE CORDER Related Press
September 20, 2023, 6:30 AM
Presiding decide Joan Donoghue, heart, follows decide Peter Tomka, proper, and is adopted by decide Ronny Abraham, left, as they enter the World Courtroom the place Ukraine’s authorized battle in opposition to Russia over allegations of genocide utilized by Moscow to justify its 2022 invasion, resumed in The Hague, Netherlands, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023. Russia seeks to have a groundbreaking case tossed out on the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice, often known as the Phrase Courtroom, in a case which is able to see Ukraine supported by a report 32 different nations in a significant present of assist for the embattled nation.(AP Picture/Peter Dejong)
The Related Press
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Ukraine’s worldwide allies filed into the United Nations’ high court docket on Wednesday to assist Kyiv’s case in opposition to Russia that alleges Moscow twisted the genocide conference to fabricate a pretext for its invasion final yr.
The listening to got here a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed the U.N. Common Meeting in New York that Russia is “weaponizing” every part from meals and power to kidnapped kids in its warfare in opposition to Ukraine — and warned world leaders that the identical might occur to them.
An unprecedented 32 states had been making temporary authorized arguments Wednesday to the 16-judge panel on the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice, which is holding hearings into Moscow’s assertions that the World Courtroom doesn’t have jurisdiction and will throw out Ukraine’s case.
Kyiv filed its case two days after Russia invaded Ukraine. It argues that the assault was based mostly on false claims by Russia of acts of genocide within the Luhansk and Donetsk areas of jap Ukraine.
Ukraine insists the court docket has jurisdiction. Kyiv’s allies supported that stance Wednesday.
Authorized representatives together with Australian Solicitor-Common Stephen Donaghue instructed judges that the case is a few dispute between Ukraine and Russia over the 1948 Genocide Conference that must be settled by the court docket.
Whereas many of the nationwide displays within the court docket’s ornate Nice Corridor of Justice had been dry authorized arguments, Canada’s consultant, Alan Kessel, underscored what was at stake.
“Canada and the Netherlands recall the profound penalties of Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine, which has resulted in immense human struggling,” Kessel mentioned. “It’s in opposition to this backdrop that we intervene as a part of our dedication to the safety and promotion of the rules-based worldwide order and the peaceable settlement of disputes through which this court docket performs an important position.”
The court docket’s panel of worldwide judges will possible take weeks or months to achieve a call on whether or not the case can proceed. If it does, a last ruling might nonetheless be years away.
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Discover AP’s tales about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine