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13 - Aggression

from PART D - SUBSTANTIVE LAW OF INTERNATIONAL CRIMES

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Robert Cryer ,
Hakan Friman ,
Darryl Robinson  and
Elizabeth Wilmshurst
Robert Cryer
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham
Hakan Friman
Affiliation:
University College London
Darryl Robinson
Affiliation:
Queen's University, Ontario
Elizabeth Wilmshurst
Affiliation:
University College London
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Summary

Introduction

Overview

Aggression is widely regarded as a crime under customary international law, although at present there is no universally agreed definition and no international court or tribunal which can try offenders. It is formally within the jurisdiction of the ICC but the Court cannot exercise its jurisdiction unless and until the parties to the ICC Statute have agreed both a definition of the crime and the conditions under which the Court may exercise its jurisdiction.

This is a crime which differs from all others within the scope of this book in being inextricably connected with an unlawful act of a State: the crime of aggression comprises the participation by a State's leaders and policy-makers in certain aggressive acts by a State. To understand the crime, therefore, it is necessary to understand the rules of international law about the responsibility of States for the unlawful use of force; these are discussed briefly at section 13.2.2, where we consider the elements of the crime.

Historical development

Leaving aside historical curiosities, the first international trial for aggression, under the name of ‘crimes against peace’, was before the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal following the Second World War. There was an attempt at a trial after the First World War: the 1919 Treaty of Versailles provided for the establishment of a special tribunal to try Kaiser Wilhelm.

Type
Chapter
Information
An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure , pp. 312 - 333
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

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