MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st July, 2020) The UN International Court of Justice has extended until April 8, 2021, the deadline for Russia to file a counter-memorial in Ukraine's lawsuit, the court said in a press release on Monday.
As per the court's previous ruling, Russia had to file the counter-memorial by December 8 of this year.
"By an Order dated 13 July 2020, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, extended from 8 December 2020 to 8 April 2021 the time-limit for the filing of the Counter-Memorial of the Russian Federation in the case," the statement read.
The ICJ added that Russia had previously appealed to the court with a request to extend the time limit for filing the counter-memorandum by 12 months, citing the coronavirus-related disruptions.
The Ukrainian side, in turn, said that the extension "would be severely prejudicial to Ukraine and would unduly delay the resolution of the case by the Court."
Kiev filed a lawsuit against Russia with the ICJ back in January 2017 on the basis of the 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Ukraine seeks to apply the conventions to the Donbas conflict and Crimea's reunification with Russia in 2014.
Moscow has repeatedly denied claims of involvement in the Donbas crisis and said that the reunification with Crimea followed a referendum held in line with international law.
