Russia Ordered To Suspend Its Military Operations In Ukraine

On March 16, 2022, the International Court of Justice, before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, ordered Russia to immediately suspend the military operations, among others. The decision comes after on February 26, 2022, Ukraine filed an application instituting proceedings against the Russian Federation before the ICJ.

On February 24, 2022, Putin unleashed a military attack on Ukraine, without any provocation and without any credible justification. Putin’s justification of the attack was clearly expressed in his speech, on February 23, 2022, when he said that “The purpose of this operation is to protect people who, for eight years now, have been facing humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the Kiev regime. To this end, we will seek to demilitarise and denazify Ukraine, as well as bring to trial those who perpetrated numerous bloody crimes against civilians, including against citizens of the Russian Federation.” He further added that: “We had to stop that atrocity, that genocide of the millions of people who live there and who pinned their hopes on Russia, on all of us.”

This act of aggression against Ukraine was followed by reports on attacks on civilians and civilian objects. Thousands of people have been killed, even more injured. Close to three million have fled the country and thousands are internally displaced.

The application, as filed, stated that it concerned “a dispute . . . relating to the interpretation, application and fulfillment of the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide [the Genocide Convention].” It continued that, “the Russian Federation has falsely claimed that acts of genocide have occurred in the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts of Ukraine, and on that basis recognized the so-called ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ and ‘Luhansk People’s Republic’, and then declared and implemented a ‘special military operation’ against Ukraine.” As such, the application aims to establish that “Russia has no lawful basis to take action in and against Ukraine for the purpose of preventing and punishing any purported genocide.” The application further accuses Russia of genocide by “intentionally killing and inflicting serious injury on members of the Ukrainian nationality, the actus reus of genocide under Article II of the Genocide Convention.” The application also sought provisional measures “in order to prevent irreparable prejudice to the rights of Ukraine and its people and to avoid aggravating or extending the dispute between the parties under the Genocide Convention.”

The hearing on provisional measures took place as early as March 7-8, 2022. Russia declined to participate in the hearing, although, later, Russia filed a written submission with the ICJ. In its submission, Russia denied that the ICJ had jurisdiction on the issue of the use of force claiming that it was outside of the scope of the Genocide Convention. Furthermore, among others, it claimed that Putin’s reference to genocide did not invoke the Genocide Convention. The submission asserted that Ukraine has no plausible rights under the Genocide Convention for provisional measures as sought.

On March 16, 2022, the ICJ ordered to Russia to “immediately suspend the military operations that it commenced on February 24, 2022, in the territory of Ukraine; (…) ensure that any military or irregular armed units which may be directed or supported by it, as well as any organizations and persons which may be subject to its control or direction, take no steps in furtherance of the military operations referred to in point.” Furthermore, Russia and Ukraine are ordered to “refrain from any action which might aggravate or extend the dispute before the Court or make it more difficult to resolve.”

While the order is welcome, it is doubtful that Putin will take any notice of it. If recent weeks have shown us anything it is that Putin has zero respect to international law and international bodies.