ICC: Jurisdiction over Crime of Aggression Activated

(Dec. 26, 2017) The Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
(ICC) met at United Nations headquarters from December 4 to 14, 2017. (Press Release, Assembly
Activates Court’s Jurisdiction over Crime of Aggression, ICC website (Dec. 15, 2017).) The Assembly “is
the Court’s management oversight and legislative body and is composed of representatives of the States
which have ratified or acceded to the Rome Statute.” ( Assembly of States Parties, ICC website (last
visited Dec. 20, 2017); Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (in force from July 1, 2002), ICC
website.)
Among the actions taken at the recent Assembly was the adoption of several resolutions by consensus.
These included activating the jurisdiction of the ICC over the crime of aggression, thereby adding this
crime to the other offenses over which ICC jurisdiction is active, which are genocide, war crimes, and
crimes against humanity. The additional jurisdiction will become effective on July 17, 2018. (Assembly of
States Parties, supra; Assembly Activates Court’s Jurisdiction over Crime of Aggression, supra.) The
Assembly also amended article 8 of the Rome Statute, on war crimes, adding to the definition of war
crimes the use of microbial, biological, or toxin weapons, weapons that cause injuries through fragments
that cannot be detected by x-rays, and laser weapons. (Assembly Activates Court’s Jurisdiction over
Crime of Aggression, supra.)
In addition, the Assembly elected six judges for terms of nine years; a new President of the Assembly,
Judge O-Gon Kwon of the Republic of Korea, for the years 2018-20; and Vice-Presidents from Senegal
and Slovakia. (Assembly Activates Court’s Jurisdiction over Crime of Aggression, supra.)
Background
The activation of the ICC’s jurisdiction over “aggression” follows many years of debate on how the crime
would be prosecuted in practice. Although the mandate to bring aggressors to trial was part of the
original jurisdiction of the ICC, its implementation was postponed pending agreement on the meaning of
“aggression” and the role of nations with vetoes in the United Nations Security Council.

At a meeting held in Kampala, Uganda, in 2010, diplomats reached consensus that the ICC Prosecutor
would take on cases of aggression only with the approval of the Security Council. In the absence of an
acknowledgment by the Security Council that aggression has occurred, the Prosecutor must request a
case from that body. Should the Security Council not reply for six months, the Prosecutor may seek
approval from the ICC judges to proceed with an investigation. In addition, States may opt out of
allowing ICC jurisdiction over crimes of aggression, sending a declaration to that effect to the Registrar of
the Court. At the 2010 meeting, it was decided that the jurisdiction would come into effect in 2017 if
adopted by 30 Member States and promulgated by the Assembly of States Parties. The 30th adoption, by
Palestine, took place on June 26, 2016. (Stéphanie Maupas, After 15 Years, ICC States Still Debating
Crime of Aggression, JUSTICEINFO.NET (Feb. 15, 2017).)
Author: Constance Johnson
Topic: Crime and law enforcement, International affairs, International Criminal Court, International
organizations, Judiciary
Jurisdiction: International Criminal Court
Date: December 26, 2017

STATUS AS AT : 16-07-2018 08:03:26 EDT

CHAPTER XVIII
PENAL MATTERS
10. a Amendment to article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

Kampala, 10 June 2010

Entry into : 26 September 2012, in accordance with article 121(5) of the Rome Statute. The Amendment
force first entered into force in regard to San Marino one year after the deposit of its instrument of
ratification.
Registration : 26 September 2012, No. 38544
Status : Parties : 36
Text : Certified true copy

United Nations, Treaty Series , vol. 2868, p. 195. Resolution RC/Res.5 of the Review
Conference of the Rome Statute.

Note : The Review Conference of the Rome Statute, held in Kampala, Uganda, from 31 May to 11 June
2010 adopted the amendment on 10 June 2010 by Resolution RC/Res.5. The amendment was
circulated by the Secretary-General under cover of depositary
notification C.N.533.2010.TREATIES-6 of 29 November 2010.

Participant Acceptance(A), Ratification

Andorra 26 Sep 2013 A

Argentina 28 Apr 2017

Austria 17 Jul 2014

Belgium 26 Nov 2013

Botswana 4 Jun 2013

Chile 23 Sep 2016

Costa Rica 5 Feb 2015

Croatia 20 Dec 2013

Cyprus 25 Sep 2013

Czech Republic 12 Mar 2015 A

El Salvador 3 Mar 2016

Estonia 27 Mar 2013

Finland 30 Dec 2015

Georgia 3 Nov 2015

Germany 3 Jun 2013 A

Latvia 25 Sep 2014

Liechtenstein 8 May 2012

Lithuania 7 Dec 2015

Luxembourg 15 Jan 2013

Malta 30 Jan 2015

Mauritius 5 Sep 2013

Netherlands 1
23 Sep 2016 A

Norway 10 Jun 2013

Panama 6 Dec 2017

Poland 25 Sep 2014

Portugal 11 Apr 2017

Samoa 25 Sep 2012

San Marino 26 Sep 2011

Slovakia 28 Apr 2014 A

Slovenia 25 Sep 2013

Spain 25 Sep 2014

State of Palestine 29 Dec 2017

Switzerland 10 Sep 2015

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 1 Mar 2016

Trinidad and Tobago 13 Nov 2012

Uruguay 26 Sep 2013

Czech Republic
Declaration:
The Czech Republic interprets the Amendment to article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal
Court (Kampala, 10 June 2010) as having the following meaning:
(i) The prohibition to employ gases, and all analogous liquids, materials or devices, set out in article 8, paragraph
2 (e) (xiv), is interpreted in line with the obligations arising from the Convention on the Prohibition of the
Development, Production, stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction of 1993.
(ii) The prohibition to employ bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human body, such as bullets with a
hard envelope which does not entirely cover the core or is pierced with incisions, does not apply to the use of such
bullets during activities of police nature in the context of law enforcement and maintenance of public order, which do
not constitute direct participation an armed conflict, such as rescuing hostages and neutralizing civil aircraft hijackers.

End Note
1

For the European part and the Caribbean part (the Islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba) of the
Netherlands.
Subsequently, on 21 December 2017, the Government of the Netherlands notified the Secretary-General that
the Amendment will apply to Aruba. (See C.N.784.2017.TREATIES-XVIII.10.a of 21 December 2017.)