The United Nations' highest court on February 2 said it had jurisdiction to hear most parts of a case filed by Ukraine that alleges Russia violated the Genocide Convention by using trumped-up claims to justify its full-scale invasion almost two years ago.
The case filed by Kyiv at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague accuses Russia of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention by falsely claiming that the February 24, 2022, invasion was launched in order to curb an alleged genocide of Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine.
In a preliminary ruling, ICJ judges ordered Russia in March 2022 to stop the invasion, but Moscow rejected the decision, arguing the court, which resolves legal complaints by states over alleged breaches of international law, had no legal right to decide in this case.
In September, lawyers for Russia asked the court at a preliminary hearing to throw out the case, reiterating that the court had no jurisdiction.
In a ruling read out by ICJ President Joan Donoghue, the judges rejected Moscow's argument that the court does have jurisdiction. But it also ruled it didn't have competence to decide on Ukraine's motion that Russia's use of force contradicted the Genocide Convention, nor could it rule on Kyiv's argument that Russia's recognition of separatist areas in eastern Ukraine breached the convention.
While its decisions are legally binding, the court has no means to enforce them.
In a separate case earlier this week, the ICJ issued a mixed ruling on a terrorism-financing complaint filed by Ukraine against Russia over Moscow's activities in eastern Ukraine and on "racial discrimination" by Russia after it illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014.
In a ruling on January 31, the court said that while Moscow had violated the United Nations anti-discrimination treaties by failing to protect education in the Ukrainian language in Crimea, it didn't agree with Ukraine's claim it was due compensation from Russia.
The court also rejected Ukraine's claims of Russia's discrimination against ethnic Tatars and Ukrainians after its annexation of Crimea.
In total, the ICJ agreed with Ukraine that Moscow violated two article of the treaties, but rejected several others.
The court has been in the world's attention in recent days due to a high-profile case brought by South Africa against Israel's handling of the war in Gaza.
In a ruling on January 26, the court ruled that Israel must do everything to prevent genocide during its offensive in response to an attack in October by Hamas -- which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the EU -- but stopped short of ordering a cease-fire.