MFA Clarifies Why Georgia Didn’t Join Ukraine's Lawsuit at ICJ
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Friday, July 15, 2022
More than 40 states support Ukraine's lawsuit against the Russian Federation in the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) and appeal to Russia to immediately stop the war.
The signatory states of the document, supporting the lawsuit filed in the Hague Court, once again emphasize that Russia has no legal basis for starting and conducting the war, and its actions are in direct contradiction to international law.
Georgia is not among the signatory states of the statement. On this regard the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia has issued the statement.
They emphasized that Georgia, as usual, continues to support Ukraine in international organizations, including in relation to the mentioned issue. In this regard, it is significant that in March 2022, Georgia, along with 39 other states, petitioned the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague to initiate an investigation. The investigation has been started and is actively ongoing.
This statement refers to the second court in The Hague - the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where Georgia already joined the statement in support of Ukraine in May 2022. This particular case represents the usual work process, where it concerns the potential involvement of Georgia as a third party in this legal process and the taking of relevant obligations (‘the signatories of the said declaration, which are parties to the Convention on Genocide, express their intention to be involved in the said process’).
“Based on the fact that Georgia itself has filed lawsuits against Russia in various international courts, taking such commitments in advance may affect the processes conducted by Georgia, to which Georgia has directed its maximum efforts.
Georgia will continue to actively support Ukraine in international organizations by engaging with the international community".
It is noted that on March 16, the UN International Court of Justice ordered Russia to immediately stop the military operation, although Moscow did not take into account the decision of the ICJ, which, in turn, implies an additional violation of international norms
Declaration signed by: EU, USA, Great Britain, Albania, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan , Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Marshall Islands, Moldova, North Macedonia, Norway, Palau, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.
It is significant that in March Georgia joined the request of 39 states to investigate the war crimes committed in Ukraine by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
