ICJ to hold hearings on Ukraine's lawsuit against Russia on September 18 to 27

This is stated in a document published on the court's website.

"The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, will hold public hearings on the preliminary objections raised by the Russian Federation in the case concerning Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation: 32 States intervening) from Monday 18 to Wednesday 27 September 2023, at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the Court," the statement said.

It also noted that the hearings will begin with Russia’s arguments, followed by Ukraine’s. 

In addition, representatives of 32 states that supported Ukraine in its lawsuit against Russia are scheduled to speak on September 20. These are Germany, Australia, Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Sweden, Bulgaria, Canada, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the United Kingdom, and Slovenia.

Establishment of a special tribunal for Russia

The necessity to establish a dedicated tribunal arose due to the limitations of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Ukraine. The ICC's jurisdiction covers only crimes such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed by Russian terrorists. It cannot investigate Russia's aggression because Ukraine did not sign the Rome Statute of the ICC, and Russia withdrew its signature in 2016. The United Nations' capabilities in this matter are also restricted. Hence, the proposal to establish a special tribunal was put forward. This tribunal would have the authority to investigate the crime against peace committed by Russia, enabling the prosecution of the Russian leadership and preventing them from evading accountability.

On March 17, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin. The ICC's decision is based on the war crimes of Putin and Lvova-Belova. They are suspected of illegally deporting Ukrainian citizens, including children.

On May 9, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a summit of 37 coalition member states on the special tribunal for Russia.

In June, the President's Office announced that 38 countries had already supported the idea.

On June 13, Zelenskyy instructed the UN General Assembly to draft a resolution on the need to establish a special international tribunal for Russia's crimes against Ukraine, and on July 1, the OSCE PA supported the creation of a special tribunal.

The fourth working meeting of the coordination group to develop a model for the tribunal took place on June 30 in Warsaw.

On July 1, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly adopted a resolution by the Ukrainian delegation on the OSCE's actions in the face of Russian armed aggression, which supported the creation of a special tribunal to bring Russians to justice for war crimes in Ukraine.  

On July 3, an international office to investigate Russia's invasion of Ukraine was opened in The Hague, which will be the first step toward a possible tribunal for the leadership of the aggressor country.

On July 10, Andriy Smirnov, deputy head of the Presidential Office for Courts, said that Ukraine doesn't agree with the so-called hybrid tribunal for Russia, as this could lead to the legal assessment of the war being reduced to the level of an interstate conflict.

Subsequently, on August 22, the Ukrainian government admitted that it would not be able to gain support for its proposed tribunal format based on the UN General Assembly resolution, and instead agreed to a slightly modified hybrid format.