The Crime of Aggression: Some Personal Reflections on Kampala

The International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg established a legal precedent for the proposition that waging a war of aggression is an international offence, for which individuals may be held criminally accountable. The efforts of the First Review Conference of the Rome Statute have resulted in a definition of the crime of aggression being included in the Rome Statute. Although a framework for the International Criminal Court's exercise of jurisdiction over the crime of aggression was also included in the amendments adopted at the Review Conference, such exercise of jurisdiction has not been given immediate effect and is subject to further action by the members of the Assembly of States Parties.