The criminal act of aggression in international and criminal law of Serbia

Abstract

Among the international criminal acts, the crime of aggression stands out by its meaning, nature and character. This is a crime against peace and international security. In the international law, the crime of aggression is identified by a number of international instruments, such as the Statute of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg; the Statute of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East; the Law No. 10 of the Control Council for Germany; and the Rome Statute of the permanent International Criminal Court. Interestingly, this serious international crime is not recognized by the respective Statutes of The Hague Tribunal and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The national criminal legislation of the Republic of Serbia also provides for this criminal offense as an aggressive war. This criminal act involves calling for, inciting, or ordering the conduct of an aggressive war. The act of execution is calling for or inciting to an aggressive, or offensive war. These are acts of encouragement which herein assumed the character of independent act of execution. For this criminal act the law provides for a prison sentence of two to twelve years of imprisonment. The most severe form of an act of aggression is an order issued to wage an aggressive war. For this crime the law provides for a prison sentence of minimum ten years of imprisonment, or a prison sentence of thirty to forty years of imprisonment. The concept, characteristics and features of the crime of aggression from the theoretical and practical aspects are exactly what this paper deals with.