CYIL Vol. 6, 2015

VERONIKA BÍLKOVÁ CYIL 6 ȍ2015Ȏ Tribunal which “refuted the argument of the defence that aggressive war was not an international crime” . 9 In 1954 the ILC adopted the text of the Draft Code of Offences against the Peace and Security of Mankind . 10 Article 1 of the Code states that the offences against peace and security of mankind are “crimes under international law, for which the responsible individuals shall be punished”. The list of the offences, in Article 2, is quite comprehensive, encompassing not only any act of aggression and any threat to resort to an act of aggression, but also a host of other acts involving the use or threat of use of military force. A revised version of the Code (renamed to the Draft Code of Crimes against the Peace and Security of Mankind 11 ) was adopted by the ILC in 1996. While confirming that “crimes against the peace and security of mankind are crimes under international law” [Article 1(2)] and that the crimes of aggression is one of them, it defines this crime in a narrower – and more traditional – way as the act of “an individual who, as leader or organizer, actively participates in or orders the planning, preparation, initiation or waging of aggression committed by a State” (Article 16). The crime of aggression features among “the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole” 12 which fall under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (hereafter the ICC). During the 1998 Diplomatic Conference, a vast majority of States spoke in favour of including aggression into the Rome Statute. For instance, the Czech Republic held that the ICC “should have inherent jurisdiction over the four core crimes of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and aggression, which are regarded as crimes under customary international law”. 13 Lithuania stressed that the inclusion of aggression was even one of its major objectives, since “experience showed that an act of aggression often led to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes”. 14 Egypt agreed that “the crime of aggression, the worst crime against humanity, /…/ should be punishable under the Statute”. 15 Other states supporting the inclusion of the crime of aggression were, for instance, Afghanistan, Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Latvia, Macedonia, Oman, Nigeria, the Philippines, Portugal, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Syria, Tajikistan, Vietnam or Zambia. The original text of the Rome Statute, adopted on 17 July 1998, contained the crime of aggression, leaving it, however, undefined. 16 The definition, with the conditions of 9 Ibid., p. 376. 10 Yearbook of the International Law Commission, 1954 , vol. II, pp. 149-152. 11 Yearbook of the International Law Commission, 1996 , vol. II (Part Two), pp. 17-56. 12 Rome Statute, Article 5. 13 UN Doc. A/CONF.183/SR.3, Diplomatic Conference – 3rd Plenary Meeting, 16 June 1998, par. 21. 14 Ibid., op. cit., par. 50. 15 UN Doc. A/CONF.183/SR.2, Diplomatic Conference – 2nd Plenary Meeting, 15 June 1998, par. 79. 16 Article 5(2) stipulated: “The Court shall exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression once a provision is adopted in accordance with articles 121 and 123 defining the crime and setting out the conditions under which the Court shall exercise jurisdiction with respect to this crime. Such a provision shall be consistent with the relevant provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.”

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