The Hague, Netherlands — The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has received a significant number of declarations of intervention from various states in the ongoing case of “Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation),” as detailed in a press release from the court dated August 6, 2024.
Following the court’s judgment on February 2, 2024, affirming its jurisdiction to examine Ukraine’s claims against Russia, the Registrar invited states that had previously filed declarations of intervention to update their status by August 2, 2024. As per the court’s statute, these interventions allow states to present their perspectives on the interpretation of the Genocide Convention, ensuring the court’s judgment holds binding authority over them.
The court has reported that by the deadline:
Six States maintained their original declarations: Romania, Portugal, France, Canada and the Netherlands (jointly), and Italy.
Eight States filed adjusted declarations: Lithuania, Latvia, New Zealand, Luxembourg, Sweden, Australia, the United Kingdom, and Denmark.
Nine States filed new declarations: Poland, Spain, Estonia, Germany, Austria, Czechia, Finland, Slovenia, and Bulgaria.
Ukraine and the Russian Federation have been invited to provide written observations on the admissibility of these declarations. If objections are raised, a further round of written observations will follow before the court makes a final decision on the admissibility of the interventions.
In the historical context of the proceedings, Ukraine initiated the case on February 26, 2022, arguing that Russia’s claims of genocide in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions were unfounded and that Russia’s military actions under this pretext were unlawful. Ukraine seeks a declaration from the court to confirm that no acts of genocide occurred in these regions.
In response to Ukraine’s application, the ICJ issued provisional measures on March 16, 2022, ordering Russia to suspend military operations initiated on February 24, 2022, and to refrain from actions that could aggravate the dispute.
The case has seen extensive participation from the international community, with 33 states filing declarations of intervention between July 2022 and December 2022. The court had already deemed 32 of these interventions admissible during the preliminary objections stage.
As the case proceeds to the merits stage, the ICJ’s decisions on these interventions will play a crucial role in shaping the interpretation and application of the Genocide Convention in the context of the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
