Expanding the ICC’s Jurisdiction Over the Crime of Aggression

Abstract

The Global Institute for the Prevention of Aggression (GIPA) recently prepared model amendments to the International Criminal Court (ICC) Statute, aimed at aligning the ICC’s jurisdiction over the crime of aggression with its jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. GIPA also prepared a draft resolution under which the recommended amendments could be adopted, and a brief explanatory memorandum to assist States Parties in their consideration of these texts. In consultation with other members of GIPA’s Council of Advisers, I was the primary author of these documents. This article details the reasons for the shape of the recommended amendments and key resolution provisions. Through an explanation of the interpretive debate surrounding the provision governing the exercise of the ICC’s jurisdiction over crimes of aggression involving States Parties, the article demonstrates that the simple deletion of offending limitations on the ICC’s jurisdiction, or parts thereof, would be unwise, because such an approach could inadvertently result in a further narrowing of the Court’s jurisdiction. The article also explains the technical issues and policy imperatives that lie behind the choice of the provision to govern the amendments’ entry into force, and why it is prudent to set out the effect of the proposed amendment for both states that have already ratified the 2010 aggression amendments, and states yet to ratify those amendments, or the ICC Statute.