Russia and Ukraine clashed off the battlefield this week, coming face-to-face in a courtroom instead.

Both sides traded barbs as the International Court of Justice, sometimes referred to as the World Court, finally heard statements on the legality of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

Russia’s representative to the court alleged Ukraine’s leaders were linked to Nazis several dozen times. Ukraine’s representative, meanwhile, said every missile Russia fires at Ukrainian cities, “it fires in defiance of this court”.

Juliette McIntyre, an international law expert at the University of South Australia, has been following all the action (and live tweeting) throughout the hearings. In her piece for The Conversation today, she explains what the case is all about – and what could happen next.

The case was unprecedented in one respect – 32 other countries showed up to provide statements in support of Ukraine, including Australia and New Zealand. McIntyre said this had to be carefully managed: the court needed to give Russia extra time to respond to ensure the hearings were perceived as impartial.

The court will now decide whether it can hear the merits of Ukraine’s case – that Russia’s invasion violated the Genocide Convention.

Ukraine is seeking compensation in the case. Because the court lacks teeth to enforce any judgments it makes, this might be a long shot. But McIntyre says the case still has huge symbolic importance.

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