The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague will hold public hearings starting Monday next week over claims of genocide in Ukraine.
In a statement Tuesday, the ICJ said public hearings will be held next Monday and Tuesday regarding “the case concerning Allegations of Genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation).”
In its application to institute proceedings against Russia, Ukraine said Russia has “falsely claimed that acts of genocide have occurred” in the separatist regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, adding Russia then subsequently declared and implemented a “special military operation” against Ukraine, according to an earlier ICJ news release.
Ukraine denied these claims in its application and accused Russia of “planning acts of genocide" in the country, according to the news release.
The hearings will be held at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the Court, and will be devoted to Ukraine’s request for the indication of provisional measures, the statement said.
In a separate statement Tuesday, the ICJ said the President of the International Court of Justice, Judge Joan E. Donoghue, has sent “an urgent communication” to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
The communication said, “I have the honour to refer to the Request for the indication of provisional measures filed in the proceedings instituted by Ukraine against the Russian Federation on 26 February 2022. Acting in conformity with Article 74, paragraph 4, of the Rules of Court, I hereby call the attention of the Russian Federation to the need to act in such a way as will enable any order the Court may make on the request for provisional measures to have its appropriate effects.”
The ICJ said Tuesday that in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, the hearings next week will be held in a hybrid format. It said some Members of the Court will attend the oral proceedings in person in the Great Hall of Justice while others will participate remotely by video link.