Book contents
- The Crime of Aggression under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
- Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law: 155
- The Crime of Aggression under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface to the Second Edition
- Preface to the First Edition
- The Crime of Aggression Amendments
- Abbreviations
- 1 The Crime of Aggression under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
- 2 Criminalising Aggression
- 3 An Act of Aggression
- 4 The Elevation of Acts of Aggression to the State Act Element of the Crime of Aggression
- 5 The Individual Conduct Elements of the Crime
- 6 The Court’s Jurisdiction Over the Crime of Aggression
- 7 Prosecuting Crimes of Aggression
- References
- Index
- Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law
2 - Criminalising Aggression
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 June 2021
- The Crime of Aggression under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
- Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law: 155
- The Crime of Aggression under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Foreword
- Preface to the Second Edition
- Preface to the First Edition
- The Crime of Aggression Amendments
- Abbreviations
- 1 The Crime of Aggression under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
- 2 Criminalising Aggression
- 3 An Act of Aggression
- 4 The Elevation of Acts of Aggression to the State Act Element of the Crime of Aggression
- 5 The Individual Conduct Elements of the Crime
- 6 The Court’s Jurisdiction Over the Crime of Aggression
- 7 Prosecuting Crimes of Aggression
- References
- Index
- Cambridge Studies in International and Comparative Law
Summary
Chapter 2 counters each of the policy arguments that have been mounted against the criminalisation of State acts of aggression, including arguments relating to uncertainties surrounding the prohibition of the use of force; that acts of aggression are too complex an episode for adjudication by a criminal tribunal; that the criminalisation of aggression will politicise the ICC; that there is a risk of a fragmentation of relevant rules of international law caused by differing decisions of the ICC, the UN Security Council, and the International Court of Justice; and claims that the criminalisation of acts of aggression will have a chilling effect on States’ willingness to use force when they should (namely, to prevent atrocity crimes). The dissection of such arguments demonstrates that each objection is misguided and sets out the case in favour of criminalisation. The chapter also assesses the geopolitical significance of the crime, considering the extent to which the criminalisation of the unlawful use of force represents a shift in the balance between power and law. Finally, the chapter examines the likely impact of the crime of aggression on the rules of the jus ad bellum.
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- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021