All's well that ends postponed: the adoption of a definition of the crime of aggression at the Rome Statute Review Conference in Kampala

Abstract

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court makes provision for criminal liability for the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. While the first three of the above-mentioned crimes were defined during the Rome Conference that adopted the Statute, the crime of aggression was not defined due to serious differences between the negotiating parties on its definition and scope. After the entry into force of the Rome Statute in 2002, a Special Working Group (SWG) was appointed by the Assembly of States Parties to work on a definition of this crime. This process culminated in a compromise definition being adopted during the conference to review the Rome Statute, held in Kampala, Uganda, in 2010. This article aims to provide an overview of the history of this crime, the work of the SWG and the negotiations during the Review Conference. It explores the diplomatic tools and methods applied in order to achieve a consensus between the widely diverging positions of participating states, providing a background to the compromises made that allowed for the adoption of amendments to the Rome Statute defining the crime of aggression and dealing with the conditions for the exercise of jurisdiction over this crime. It concludes with a brief analysis of the amendments.