The Hague, Europe Brief News – Russia purposely avoided hearing at the UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday. Last week, Russia hit Ukraine’s power plant which has significant value as it is one of the biggest Nuclear power plants in Europe.
After the continuous attack on Civilians, the Ukrainian Government decided to take the matter to the International Court of Justice to get an emergency order to stop hostilities from the Russian forces. The hearing began at the International Court of Justice without legal representation of Russia.
Anton Kornevych, Ukrainian envoy said, “The fact that Russia’s seats are empty speaks loudly. They are not here in this court of law: they are on a battlefield waging an aggressive war against my country”.
He suggests Russia to lay down arms and put forward your evidence. The International Court of Justice regretted Russia’s non-attendance.
Russian President Putin said that he initiated the Special military operation to protect the people in separatist regions of Eastern Ukraine. He claimed that Ukrainian forces had killed a number of people over the years.
Ukraine said on Monday that Russia’s claim was baseless and the alleged genocide in eastern Ukraine was nonexistent.
The case centres on the interpretation of a 1948 treaty on the prevention of genocide, signed by both countries. The treaty names the International Court of Justice as the forum for resolving the dispute between countries.
Ukraine claimed that Russia was violating and abusing the genocide convention by using it as a justification for war.
Korynevych, Ukrainian politician, said in the court “ Russia must be stopped and the court has a role to play in stopping it.
Fast Track Procedure
The ICJ is the highest court for resolving the dispute between states and it usually takes time to get to any conclusion. However, it also has a fast track procedure to look at provisional measures and Ukraine has requested for the same procedure to come in play.
The court has the authority to order provisional measures to stop the situation from getting bad to worse but before ordering provisional measures the court has to ask fundamental questions whether it has jurisdiction or the merits of the case.
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary general warned that it is highly likely that Russia will bring heavier weaponry as the brutal conflict intensifies.
He accused Russia of dropping illegal cluster bombs in the streets of Ukraine and predicted that more people are going to die as the war move forward.
