On Monday, Russia and Ukraine will face off before the United Nations International Court of Justice in a case that centers on Moscow’s claims that its invasion of Ukraine was carried out to prevent genocide, Reuters reports.

Ukraine took the case to the UN’s highest court just days after the Russian invasion on February 24 last year.

Kyiv claims Russia is abusing international law, saying the invasion was justified to prevent a possible genocide in eastern Ukraine.

Russian officials continue to accuse Ukraine of genocide.

Russia wants to close the case and objects to the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

A decision in favor of Ukraine may be important for possible future compensation

The hearing, which runs until September 27, will not deal with the merits of the case, but will instead focus on legal arguments about jurisdiction.

Moscow says Ukraine is using the case as a way to get a ruling on the general legality of its military actions.

Ukraine has already overcome one hurdle, as the court issued a preliminary ruling in its favor last March. Based on this, the court obliged Russia to immediately stop military operations in Ukraine.

During the hearings, the court will hear from representatives of 32 other states, all of whom support Ukraine’s argument that the court has jurisdiction to continue the case.

“It seems only fair that the court finds that it has jurisdiction,” said Juliet McIntyre, a law lecturer at the University of South Australia and an observer of the International Court of Justice.

While Russia has so far ignored the International Court of Justice’s cease-and-desist orders and the court has no way to enforce its rulings, experts say a possible ruling in Ukraine’s favor could be important for any future compensation claims.

“If the court finds that there was no legal justification for Russia’s actions under the Genocide Convention, this ruling could set up a future claim for compensation,” McIntyre said.

The 1948 UN Genocide Convention defines genocide as crimes committed “with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group as such”.