«Aggression» as an imperative norm of international law: genesis of development

Abstract

The article reveals the essence of «aggression» as an imperative norm of modern international law. Attention is focused on the fact that despite the prohibition of aggression by the imperative norms of international law and its recognition by the international community as an international crime, a universal definition of aggression has not yet been adopted. Consideration of the essence of aggression by analyzing the provisions contained in the UN Charter, the Declaration of Principles of 1970 and the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 require some clarification and expansion. The definition proposed by the UN General Assembly Resolution No. 3314 needs to be confirmed by convention, as the resolutions of the UN General Assembly have the nature of soft law. The provisions of the Resolution can be transformed into customary norms of international law, however, the fact of the transformation of the provisions of this resolution into customary norms at the current stage is debatable and requires additional justification. It is noted that the definition of aggression is also contained in the ICC Statute, however, this statute has been adopted by a relatively small number of states, so these provisions are not mandatory for non-participating states. In addition, the Court has jurisdiction to administer justice and render appropriate judgments only in relation to natural persons. Therefore, today there is an urgent need to adopt a definition of aggression at the universal convention level, which will contribute to the prevention of the international crime of aggression and increase the effectiveness of combating it. It is indisputable that the prohibition of aggression acquires its imperative status through its inherent rationalism and moral authority instead of state consent.