Ukraine vs Russia: Hearings on merits to start in The Hague on Monday

Hearings on the merits of Ukraine's claim against the Russian Federation over the violation of the rights of the coastal state under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea will kick off tomorrow in The Hague.

The hearing on the merits of Ukraine's claim against Russia last through October 5, 2024 in the hall of the Permanent Chamber of the Arbitration Court in the Peace Palace, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The hearing will address the merits, jurisdictional and remaining admissibility issues.

Ukraine will be the first to speak in court after the session starts at 10:00 local time. Russia’s representatives will speak second.

Until the end of the hearing, public access to trial will be closed in any form. Subsequently, open information will be published on the Court's website.

However, the opening and closing statements of both parties will remain public.

There will also be a live broadcast of the open parts of the hearings.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on September 14, 2016, Ukraine initiated a separate proceeding against the Russian Federation regarding the violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and seeks to confirm Ukraine's rights in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, and the Kerch Strait through an arbitration procedure.

In May 2017, the first meeting of the tribunal under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea took place, where an arbitration was established to consider the dispute between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. The memorandum, that is, a package of evidence showing that Russia violates the sovereign rights of Ukraine in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, and the Kerch Strait, was filed with the Permanent Chamber of the Arbitration Court in The Hague on February 19, 2018. Russia submitted to the International Tribunal its objections to the jurisdiction.