Embassy of Ukraine: Russia is deliberately destroying the foundations of the modern international legal order

Russia is deliberately destroying the foundations of the modern international legal order, it was announced today from the Embassy of Ukraine in Montenegro.

"More than a month has passed since the beginning of the Russian aggression in Ukraine, which the Kremlin calls a "special military operation". died. Officials of the Russian Federation in their speeches constantly use the officially artificial euphemism "special military operation" in order to mislead the public and make the work of international lawyers, judges of domestic and international courts as difficult as possible. It should be recognized that Russian experts in the field of international law (in fact, not they can be called lawyers, only because this word comes from the Latin Juris - law, the meaning of the activity of real lawyers is the triumph of justice), they were thoroughly prepared for future trials before the beginning of Russian aggression," the statement of the Embassy of Ukraine points out.

They added that the euphemism "special military operation," essentially meaning the term "war," complicates reference in legal proceedings to such fundamental sources of international law as the 1907 Hague Conventions, including the Convention on the Laws and Customs of War on Land.

"Russia's attempts to use euphemisms are not new. In 2014, during the military illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea - the territory of the sovereign state of Ukraine, Russian propaganda and even officials actively used the euphemism "decent people" for the military personnel of the Russian Federation. Without doubt, this euphemism was developed by qualified experts in the field of information and psychological influence. The word "decent" is subconsciously associated with the meaning of "humanity", "good intentions" and actively misleads consumers of mass media who have no experience in understanding the specific situation and makes it difficult for lawyers who they face the problem of practical interpretation of the law," said the Embassy of Ukraine.

They said that unfortunately, the use of such methods proved to be quite effective.

"The current use of the fictional concept of "special military operations" is reinforced by the use of false allegations of the presence of "fascists", "Nazis" in Ukraine, the development of weapons of mass destruction, the "oppression" of Russian speakers. And even acts of genocide against the civilian population. Use the word "special" indicates the selectivity ("non-mass") of ongoing military operations, and the word "operation" has diverted attention from the concept of "war". The use of euphemisms and false claims as "legal interference" is an element of hybrid warfare. One such for example, Russia, as a justification, announced that one of the goals of the "special military operation" was to "prevent genocide against the population of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine," the announcement reads.

The embassy said that on February 26, 2022, Ukraine submitted a complaint to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Russia's violation of the 1947 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

"Ukraine also filed a request for interim measures, essentially asking the International Court of Justice to order Russia to stop waging war in Ukraine. However, for the first time, Russia refused to participate in the hearings. This case set a precedent. Moscow has so far always participated in the sessions of the Court, defended herself, argued, among other things, denying the jurisdiction of the Court. Even when the decisions on jurisdiction were not in favor of the Russian Federation, she continued to participate in the discussions, creating an image of respect and trust in the Court's decisions. it happened because the UN Court is a very important institution in the world, whose activities were also important for the Russian Federation itself," said the Embassy of Ukraine.

They added that this time Russia showed disrespect towards one of the most authoritative international courts.

"In particular, it should be noted that Russia did not even try to explain the reasons for rejecting the process, apparently due to its unwillingness to legally defend its position on the false "genocide" of the population in the Lugansk and Donetsk regions. It should be noted that such behavior of Russia testifies to the recognition of its own losing position. In addition moreover, this situation developed due to the fact that foreign and even Russian advisers of the Russian Federation, who previously defended Russia, including disputes against Ukraine after the aggression in 2014, announced this time that they refuse to represent it before the International Court of Justice. They considered it impossible to represent a country that completely denies international law," said the Embassy of Ukraine.

The statement also states that an important conclusion can be drawn that Russia is deliberately destroying the foundations of the modern international legal order.

Navoe also noted that on March 16, the President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Joan Donoghue, announced the decision of the International Court of Justice: "The Russian Federation, until the final decision on the case, will immediately suspend the hostilities that began on February 24, 2022 on the territory of Ukraine. The Russian Federation must ensure that any military or regular formations it may command or support, as well as any organizations or persons it may indirectly control, take no further action in these operations. The court has jurisdiction to investigate whether in Ukraine genocide. The Court has no evidence that Ukraine is committing genocide on its territory, as Russia has claimed. The Court doubts that the Convention on the Prevention of the Crime of Genocide allows unilateral military action in another state to prevent genocide."

The Embassy of Ukraine said that the next day after the publication of the Court's decision, Dmitry Peskov, the spokesman of the President of the Russian Federation, said that Russia would not comply with the first decision of the International Court of Justice on the lawsuit of Ukraine against Russia: "We cannot accept this decision. International Court of Justice there is such a thing as 'consent of the parties'. There can be no agreement here. . . . In this case, that is something we cannot consider."

"The non-recognition of the ICJ decision is not only another gross violation of international law, but also a serious reason for revising the status of Russia in the organs of the United Nations, and above all the status of a permanent member of the Security Council. Unfortunately, the process in this direction is very slow, contemporary international law is characterized by conservatism and the lack of procedural dynamism. The Court took 20 days to render its decision. This was done quite quickly, given the conditions the Court was considering. Thus, it can only be considered the first step towards a long-overdue reform of international law, as the Court must be not only just, but also fast", concludes the statement of the Embassy of Ukraine in Montenegro.