Daniel Peat in El País on the International Court of Justice and the war in Ukraine
President Zelensky of Ukraine has asked the UN International Court of Justice to issue an urgent order to stop Russian military activity in his country. According to Zelensky, Russia has twisted the concept of genocide to justify aggression.
The International Court of Justice is the highest judicial organ of the United Nations and settles disputes between States. Both parties must accept its jurisdiction which is unlikely in view of the current war situation.
In Spanish newspaper El País, Daniel Peat, Assistant Professor of Public International Law, says that decisions by the International Court of Justice are binding for States, though it does not have to powers to force their compliance.
'What the Court can do is to make clear that genocide is not taking place in Donbas, contrary to Russian President Putin’s arguments for invading Ukraine. This would be a source of objective information for the Russian people. They would be able to see that they have been given false explanations. That could perhaps lead to internal protests in Russia’, says Peat.