This research is on the challenges that the state parties faced in including the crime of aggression under the international affairsfuture challenges that might arise in prosecuting the crime of aggression. The crime of aggression, formerly known as crimes against peace, is the use of unlawful force by a state against another state. Its prohibition started before World War One but successful prosecutions for this crime took place after World War Two when Nazi and Japanese leaders were prosecuted by the Allied Powers. The research will analyse some important international criminal law principles that will affect the laws prohibiting aggression since it is an international crime that has to be bound by principles already adopted and received by the international community. The biggest obstacle that the state parties had to overcome was an accepted definition of the crime for purposes of the Rome Statute. A definition was adopted in 2010 at the Kampala Review Conference but at least 30 states parties need to ratify these adoptions that will be reviewed again in 2017. The ICC will only have jurisdiction over this crime if enough ratifications are obtained from the state parties. Other challenges include: personal jurisdiction (who the ICC may prosecute for this crime); the leadership nature of this crime; the exclusion of non-state actors from the definition of this crime; immunity of state leaders that will further complicate their prosecution if responsible for committing aggression; the inclusion of humanitarian intervention as aggression; and the application of the principle of complementarity with regard to the crime of aggression. States, particularly the United States of America, have objected to the inclusion of this crime in the Rome Statute for fear that its nationals (military and political leaders) will be held criminally liable for making political decisions to use military force against another state. Current international affairs will be used to demonstrate why this crime has been difficult to prosecute compared to the other international crimes. After raising the challenges that the ICC might face I am going to offer possible solutions and recommendations that the ICC should first implement to be able to have more successful prosecutions of the crime of aggression. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

Magister Legum - LLM

Magister Legum - LLM / Objective of the study – The primary goal of this research study was to investigate and document the evolution and historical development of the crime of aggression. Design / methodology / approach – The research study was primarily a desk-top based research by design and methodology. It reviews a range of published books, expert commentaries, and journal articles that provide theoretical and practical research on the evolution and development of crime of aggression through the past centuries to the present day. The discussion is majorly premised around key historical debates and events that shaped, and defined the rubric of the crime of aggression. These include: the philosophers' conceptualisation of the doctrine of "just war" or "unjust war", states' practice before and after the First World War and Second World War, the International Military Tribunals, the birth and role of the United Nations, the 1998 Rome Conference and the 2010 Kampala ICC Review Conference. Findings – This study provides information on each author's perspective on the status of the crime of aggression before and after the First ICC Review Conference. The study generally concedes that although today the crime of aggression is defined under the Rome Statute, and the jurisdiction of the ICC over it spelt out; its status under the treaty regime remains distinctly different from that under international customary law. Significance of the study – The significance of this research study lies in the fact that it is useful with regard to documenting the historical development of the crime of aggression. It also fulfils an identified need to clarify the position of the crime of aggression after the landmark First ICC Review Conference that took place in Kampala during May / June 2010. Study type – Postgraduate university Master of Laws research paper.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine interventions under the doctrine of R2P without appropriate legal authority becomes coercive actions of Unilateral Humanitarian Intervention. And that a unilateral humanitarian intervention would amount to the crime of aggression.   The R2P doctrine states that sovereignty is derived from the responsibility for a population. The responsibility to protect is primarily on the state. In the event of a failure to protect a human population the responsibility is transferred to the international community of states.According to the doctrine of Humanitarian Interventions it exists a third exception to the use of force, which allows states to legally intervene in the event of a humanitarian catastrophe.  This thesis will first examine the link between R2P and Unilateral Humanitarian Intervention. Secondly, the legal status of Unilateral Humanitarian interventions will be examined, and how Unilateral Humanitarian Intervention can fulfil the elements of the crime of aggression. The last part examines if Unilateral Humanitarian Intervention can constitute ‘defensive force of others’ as grounds to exclude criminal responsibility, in the event of an ICC criminal trial for the crime of aggression.The thesis concludes that a person subject to a criminal prosecution for the crime of aggression in the event of Unilateral Humanitarian Intervention, could successfully argue ‘defensive force of others’ as grounds to exclude criminal responsibility.

This thesis examines prosecutorial challenges of the International Criminal Court (ICC/the court) in relation to the dwindling legitimacy prosecuting under Article 5 of the Rome Statute and other relevant international law principles. The study attempts a prognosis of the future shape of ICC prosecutions in light of the challenges and proposes reforms to the operations of the Court and its constitutive instrument to improve the dispensation of justice. The focus of the study is substantive international criminal law, developments in relevant case laws of international courts and tribunals, structure and procedures of the ICC and relevant principles within the context of elements of the Crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the Crime of aggression. The thesis further evaluates the role of the Court as it ensures international cooperation with domestic efforts to promote the ‘Rule of law’, uphold the principles of international humanitarian law, human rights law and combat impunity being the first permanent treaty-based international criminal court with the intent and purpose of ending impunity for perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community and thus contributes to the prevention of such crimes. Additionally, the International Criminal Court advances international criminal justice, particularly with regard to victims by providing not only legal justice but also participation in the process and restorative justice to rebuild the society after mass violence. The thesis is an analysis of the prosecutorial challenges at the International Criminal Court, using its legal framework and jurisprudence to establish facts and reach new conclusions.

The Rome Statute which came to existence in 1998 was a great step forward for international criminal law and its enforcement. Later, in 2002, the International Criminal Court was established in order to prosecute the most serious crimes according to the Statute - war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression. Only the first three mentioned were specified in the Statute, while the fourth one was not agreed upon, meaning that the ICC does not possess jurisdiction over this crime. The aim of the Revision Conference in Kampala in 2010 was to incorporate the definition of the crime of aggression into the Rome Statute. Finally, the International Court had to gain jurisdiction over a crime of aggression. However the expectations were not fully met. The states agreed upon the definition which they specified in the Rome Statute; nevertheless the jurisdiction of the ICC has not yet been activated. This will probably happen in 2017 at the earliest if preconditions and triggering mechanisms are completed. The purpose of the thesis The Crime of Aggression and the International Criminal Court is to examine the questions related to aggression. The thesis begins with the historical development of the concept and continues with the most relevant international law provisions connected to...

Crime of Aggression under the Rome Statute of ICC Abstract The jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over the Crime of Aggression, which has been defined at the Review Conference in Kampala, 2010, will be activated on 17th of July 2018. This paper is summarizing more than seventy years of continuing development of a definition of the Crime of Aggression which has started after the Second World War during so-called Nurnberg Trials (a forerunner of the Crime of Aggression - Crimes Against Peace have been tried during these trials) and which will be, at least for now, completed upon the activation of the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court and upon a completion of the Rome Statute. This paper deals not only with the history of the Crime of Aggression but also with its position as a crime under the international law with a connection to other crimes which can be prosecuted before the International Criminal Court. Furthermore, it analyses the main elements of the crime with a focus on difficulties which can potentially come up once they are used in practice. A special part of this paper is focused on jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over the Crime of Aggression, which has not quite met expectations from international society, as it seems that in case of state referral or...

1 The Crime of Aggression under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Abstract This diploma thesis deals with the Crime of Aggression, one of the four crimes under international law prosecuted by the International Criminal Court. The definition of this crime was adopted at the Kampala Review Conference in 2010 and the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court was activated in 2018. This is a significant milestone in the development of international criminal law, as it means a possibility of prosecuting state "leaders" for acts of aggression against other states for the first time since the end of the Second World War. The goal of this thesis is to provide a brief summary of the historical development of the Crime of Aggression, to analyse and to evaluate the newly adopted definition. The jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over the Crime of Aggression of the will be also assessed. Last but not least, the paper elaborates on whether the Crime of Aggression has become a custom in international customary law. The first chapter deals with the position of the Crime of Aggression in relation to other crimes under international law and the issue of terms and scheme of international criminal law. Chapter two describes the complex historical development of the Crime of Aggression....

1 SUMMARY THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT AND ITS SUBJECT-MATTER JURISDICTION WITH REGARD TO THE CRIME OF AGGRESSION The current course of events concerning the crime of aggression and the search for its definition has undergone a remarkable shift during these days. In the light of the Revision Conference in Kampala, Uganda, whose declared aim was to evaluate the role and the up- to-date operation of the International Criminal Court as well as to find the definition of the crime of aggression and to set up the conditions to exercise the jurisdiction concerning the crime of aggression, the worldwide understanding of the conception of the crime of aggression has been significantly changed . The aim of this paper is to familiarize the reader with the problems regarding the crime of aggression, to describe the evolution of its conception in the field of international law within the last few decades and to provide the reader with a brief outline of some problematic questions which arose from the negotiations of the definition among the states. Further, the thesis attempts to depict the development of the negotiations themselves and to focus on the main disagreements, which the states had to face. The introductory chapter deals with some theoretical questions related to the international criminal justice. The...

Title of the dissertation: The Rome Statute's Crime of Aggression following the Kampala Review Conference The definition of crime of aggression was adopted in 2010 to fill the gap in article 5 (2) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court ("ICC"). Complicated discussions preceding the adoption have identified many problematic aspects within the definition, including the relationship between the ICC and the UN Security Council ("SC") - whether the SC would be the only body capable to commence proceedings for the crime of aggression or not; further including the legal status of humanitarian intervention for the purposes of its criminalization under the Rome Statute; position of a perpetrator of the crime - should only leaders be considered perpetrators or should "lower" state officials be included; how should the amendment enter into force - under article 121 (4) or 121 (5) of the Rome Statute; etc. Many of these questions have not been answered by the adopted definition in a satisfactory way and so while the international community was celebrating the success of the adoption of the "supreme crime's" definition, many (including the author of this dissertation) have been seriously disappointed by the short-comings of the adopted text. Scholars continue to better understand the...