Russia, Ukraine cross swords in sea dispute court battle

Bitter enemies Russia and Ukraine clashed at the world's oldest arbitration court on Monday over a long-running case about access to coastal waters around the annexed Crimea peninsula.

Far from the battlefields of eastern Ukraine and Kursk, diplomats fired legal broadsides at each other in the rarefied Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague.

Anton Korynevych, Ukraine's main representative, accused Russia of thinking it was above international law and could "play by its own rules."

"Ukraine is here to prove Russia's many violations of the laws of the sea and to demonstrate that Russia is not free to rewrite the laws of the sea," added Korynevych.

He said the Kerch Bridge Moscow had built to connect Crimea to the Russian mainland impeded international shipping, which he said was also hampered by excessive Russian checks.

"Russia now views the Kerch Strait, the Sea of Azov, and perhaps even parts of the Black Sea as its proprietary waters," Korynevych told the court.

"Russia wants these waters to be viewed as part of its 21st century empire."

Responding for Russia, Gennady Kuzmin said Kyiv's case was "completely groundless and hopeless."

After the annexation of Crimea, the seas in dispute were internal waters and therefore fell outside the scope of international shipping laws, said Kuzmin.

He said the Kerch Bridge was built to relieve what he termed a Ukrainian "blockage" of Crimea and denied it inhibited shipping.

"All of Ukraine's claims are baseless, fall outside of the scope of your jurisdiction, and should be dismissed in their entirety," said Kuzmin.

The case dates all the way back to September 2016, when Kyiv dragged Moscow to the PCA to "vindicate its rights as the coastal state".

Ukraine asked the court to order Russia to "cease its internationally wrongful actions in the relevant waters."

Russia launched an objection in 2019, claiming the court lacked jurisdiction. Moscow said Ukraine sought to have the PCA rule on the sovereignty of Crimea, which was beyond its scope.

The court ruled in 2020 that Russia had a point and asked Ukraine to refile its case accordingly.

Set up in 1899, the PCA is the world's oldest arbitral tribunal.

It resolves disputes between countries and private parties over contracts, special agreements and various treaties, such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Hearings last until October 5. The court often takes months if not years to reach a decision.