Introduction

1. The present non-paper is aimed at facilitating discussions at the Princeton Club with respect to the major outstanding issues regarding the “conditions for the exercise of jurisdiction” over the crime of aggression. These outstanding issues are primarily reflected in draft article 15 bis, paragraph 4, of the proposals for a provision on aggression, elaborated by the Special Working Group on the Crime of Aggression (hereinafter “the Group”). The February 2009 report of the Group notes in this respect that this paragraph requires “further discussion, including on the basis of new ideas and suggestions”. The issue of the entry into force procedure (article 121, paragraph 4 or 5) is directly linked to this question.

2. It is suggested that delegations use the intersessional meeting to exchange views on possible ways of finding an acceptable solution for the outstanding issues, including on the basis of such new ideas and suggestions. Due to the very complex nature of the issue and the numerous variables related to the discussion, the Chairman suggests that participants address specific questions (printed in italics below), dealing with specific scenarios and based on a number of considerations that can be extracted from the previous work of the Group.