Ukraine Takes Russia to Court

A pending court case between Ukraine and Russia at the International Court of Justice in 2017 was a political act by Kiev to raise its international profile — and was more important than many might think.

Ukraine was trying to use an instrument of international law to increase the visibility of Moscow’s March 2014 annexation of Crimea and Russia’s role in the war in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.

• Primary Source

ICJ: Press Release, No.11, 2017 (09.03.17): Application of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Ukraine v. Russian Federation). Conclusion of the public hearings on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by Ukraine. The Court to begin its deliberation http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/166/19372.pdf

ESO: Background information: Can the Minsk Agreement Succeed? (Carnegie Europe: Strategic Europe, February 2017) http://www.europeansources.info/record/judy-asks-can-the-minsk-agreement-succeed/

Deutsche Welle, 20.04.17: UN court rejects Ukraine bid to block funding for pro-Russian rebels http://p.dw.com/p/2bYCK

ICJ: Press Release, No.15, 2017 (19.03.17): The Court finds that Russia must refrain from imposing limitations on the ability of the Crimean Tatar community to conserve its representative institutions, including the Mejlis, and ensure the availability of education in the Ukrainian language http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/166/19412.pdf

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