The Crime of Aggression After Kampala

Abstract

The first ever Review Conference of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, held in Kampala, Uganda, from 31 May to 11 June 2010, succeeded in reaching an agreement on the definition and the conditions for the exercise of jurisdiction for the crime of aggression pursuant to article 5 (2) of the Rome Statute. This paper will, after some preliminary remarks (infra I.), first attempt to succinctly summarize the compromise reached (II.), distinguishing between the definition (II.A.) and the conditions regarding the exercise of jurisdiction (II.B.). On this basis a critical analysis will be presented (III.), examining, after some preliminary clarifications (III.A.), the most relevant substantive (III.B.) and procedural issues (III.B.). The paper intends to show that the final agreement constitutes a historic achievement – despite some flaws and inevitable compromises.