The Security Council and the ICC

Abstract

This chapter explores China’s concerns about the relationship between the International Criminal Court and the United Nations Security Council, in particular, the crime of aggression. It examines whether it is possible for China to reshape the jurisdictional scope of the ICC through the Security Council’s use of its referral and deferral powers. This chapter also discusses whether the crime of aggression creates any insurmountable obstacle for China to join the ICC from the perspectives of both law and policy.