After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, lawyers acting for Kyiv looked at how they could use international law to fight Russian aggression in the courtroom, as well as on the battlefield.

Just two days after the invasion, representatives of the law firm Covington went before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) — the principal judicial court of the UN — to argue on Ukraine’s behalf for a court order against Russia. Led by former British diplomat Jonathan Gimblett and acting pro bono on behalf of Ukraine, the lawyers claimed Moscow had violated the genocide convention by falsely accusing Ukraine of being a perpetrator of genocide. 

The case was brought under the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which both Russia and Ukraine have ratified. It was highly unusual for such a case to be brought so soon after an invasion, rather than being filed after the conflict had ended.