CASE “UKRAINE V. RUSSIAN FEDERATION”. DETERMINATION OF THE DISPUTE SUBJECT-MATTER AND JURISDICTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

Abstract

The article deals with the case “Application of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Ukraine v. The Russian Federation)”, initiated by the Application of Ukraine of 16 January 2017. On November 8, 2019, as a result of the preliminary objections raised by the Russian Federation on September 12, 2018, on the Court’s jurisdiction and the admissibility of the claim, the UNs International Court of Justice rejected the preliminary objections of the Russian Federation in favor of Ukraine. In the judgment, the Court identified the subject-matter of the dispute between the parties and established its jurisdiction in accordance with art. 24.1 of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and art. 22 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. In the article, particular attention is paid to both the analysis of the findings of the ICJ on the determination of the dispute subject-matter (disputed issues that will form the basis of the case merits) and the examination of the Court’s jurisdiction in the case. Ukraine v. Russia case has been brought by Ukraine after the events that have taken place in the east of our state and in the south – in the Crimea since the spring of 2014 and on which parties have different views. The Court noted that issues of purported “aggression” of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, or “unlawful occupation” of the territory of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, as well as the proclamation of the status of the Crimea by the Court are not within the subject-matter of dispute in the present case. In respect of the events in eastern Ukraine, the applicant initiated proceedings only under the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. In Crimea, Ukraine’s claims are based solely on the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Based on established jurisdiction, the Court will be able to make a final determination solely on whether by its actions (inaction) the Russian Federation has breached its international legal obligations under the conventions mentioned above – within the limits set out in the claim of Ukraine. In view of the subject-matter determined by the Court, the ICJ deciding on the merits of the case will, first, establish whether under the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism the Russian Federation was required to take measures and cooperate in the prevention and suppression of alleged terrorism financing in the context of events in eastern Ukraine and, if so, whether the Russian Federation has breached such obligations. Secondly, the Court will determine whether the respondent violated its international legal obligations by discriminatory measures applied, based on Ukraine’s position, against the Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian communities in the Crimea. The Court’s finding on the violations of the abovementioned international treaty rules will result in the Russian Federation being held liable, including in the forms of immediate termination of these violations, the resumption by the Russian Federation of the fulfillment of its international obligations under the discussed conventions, as well as compensation for losses, including those of financial kind – as it was claimed by Ukraine. Keywords: Ukraine, Russian Federation, United Nations International Court of Justice, the subject-matter of the dispute, jurisdiction, convention, terrorism financing, racial discrimination, eastern Ukraine, Crimea.