Defining the Crime of Aggression: Are We There Yet?

Abstract

This paper examines the crime of aggression as agreed upon by State parties at the Kampala Review Conference in 2010. It highlights the uncertainties and deficiencies within the crime’s definition. These include the failure of Article 8bis to address terrorist attacks by non-state actors and cyber-attacks. Further, it is argued that Article 8bis does not comply with the principle of legality. The Kampala definition is inherently ambiguous in respect of self-defence and humanitarian intervention. This paper focuses particularly on the relationship between the crime of aggression and humanitarian intervention, and concludes that there ought to be expression exclusion for unilateral humanitarian intervention in Article 8bis.