The International Court of Justice threw out objections raised by Azerbaijan to an anti-discrimination case filed by Armenia and on Tuesday said that the case can move forward.
Armenia filed the case against Azerbaijan in 2021. Azerbaijan then filed a counterclaim accusing Armenia of violating the same treaty.
Last year, the court issued emergency measures in Armenia’s case, ordering Azerbaijan to let Armenians, who were forced to flee Artsakh in September 2023, return.
In its ruling Tuesday, the Hague-based court completely rejected all preliminary objections raised by Azerbaijan in the case, concerning the case known as the Application of the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Armenia v. Azerbaijan). The Court confirmed that the preconditions under Article 22 of the Convention were met.
Specifically, the court found that Armenia had engaged in genuine negotiations on the interpretation and application of the Convention and that these negotiations had become futile by the date of Armenia’s Application on September 16, 2021.
Furthermore, the Court dismissed Azerbaijan’s objections regarding jurisdiction. It held that Armenia’s claims fully fall within the scope of the Convention, including the claims that Azerbaijan has committed acts of murder, torture, and inhuman treatment against ethnic Armenians based on their national or ethnic origin, as well as claims of arbitrary detention of ethnic Armenians.
Armenia’s International Legal Affairs office, which deals with Armenia’s judicial cases in international courts, welcomed the court’s ruling.
