Hearings have begun at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in Ukraine's suit against Russia.  Kyiv claims Moscow employed terrorism in its Donbass region and has mistreated Crimea's minorities.

According to Deutsche Welle, the case in the Hague could go down as one of the most spectacular in years.

On March 6, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held its first hearings in a suit Ukraine has brought against Russia. The opposing parties will initially each get four days of divided hearings at the highest international court.

The detailed 45-page indictment outlines alleged violations of two UN conventions.  To begin with, the Ukrainian government is accusing Russia of violating the Terrorist Financing Treaty through its support of "illegally armed groups" in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic. Russia denies this.

The second part of the claim covers the alleged mistreatment of Crimea's Tartar and ethnic Ukrainian populations when Russia annexed the area in March 2014.  In allegedly imprisoning people and by banning the Majlis of the Crimean Tatar People – its representative body -  Russia is accused of violating the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Ukraine cites UN and OSCE reports from the region, as well as NATO satellite imagery as evidence.  The suit calls upon the court to hold Russia to account for its crimes, including the downing of MH17 and firing on civilians. Reparations are demanded. 

The lawsuit was filed in January 2017, almost three years after the events in the claim began.  Ukraine has filed claims in other international courts, but chances of success are more limited, DW notes.  The International Criminal Court (ICC), also based in the Hague, was established for handling war crimes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in 2016 that his country would not be part of the Rome Statute that governs the ICC, which Russia had signed, but not ratified.  Ukraine has not ratified it either, but it granted the ICC limited power to investigate in 2013, which the court is currently doing.  Since 2014, Ukraine has filed five suits at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), with a sixth being prepared. Russia's Supreme Court declared it would have the final word on any ECHR ruling.