CYIL Vol. 6, 2015

MANIFEST VIOLATION OF THE UN CHARTER

MANIFEST VIOLATION OF THE UN CHARTER

Jan Lhotský

Abstract: Within the international conference in Kampala in 2010 where the extension of jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court for the crime of aggression was negotiated, reaching a consensus constituted a substantial challenge. The accepted definition expresses that a precondition for a crime of aggression is the existence of an act of aggression that – by its character, gravity and scale – constitutes a manifest violation of the UNCharter.This paper deals with the possibilities of interpretation of the general term ‘manifest violation’, as its reading is crucial in order to identify the extent to which the jurisdiction of the Court with regard to the crime of aggression will be able to be used in the real future. Resumé: Na mezinárodní konferenci v Kampale, kde se v roce 2010 vyjednáváno rozšíření jurisdikce Mezinárodního trestního soudu o zločin agrese, představovalo dosažení konsensu podstatnou výzvu. Přijatá definice vyjadřuje, že podmínkou pro zločin agrese je existence útočného činu, který svou povahou, závažností a rozsahem zakládá zjevné porušení ( manifest violation ) Charty OSN. Tento příspěvek se zabývá možnostmi výkladu obecného pojmu „zjevné porušení“, jelikož právě jeho interpre- tace je klíčová pro zjištění, jak široce nebo naopak úzce bude moci být jurisdikce Mezinárodního trestního soudu vůči zločinu agrese v budoucnu reálně využívána. Key words: Manifest violation; crime of aggression; International Criminal Court; UN Charter. On the Author: JUDr. Ing. Jan Lhotský holds a Ph.D. in international law from the Faculty of Law of Masaryk University. During his studies he participated in a number of educational programmes, e.g. at the European University Institute in Florence, the United Nations in Geneva (Human Rights Council) and later in New York (Human Rights Committee), the University of Salzburg and the National University of Ireland. Later he worked in the Legal Affairs Division of the European External Action Service in Brussels. He focuses primarily on the role of the individual in international law, in particular within the fields of international human rights protection and international criminal law. 1. Introduction Among the cornerstones of international law, the principle of prohibition of the threat or use of force plays a primary role. This norm has been incorporated into the Charter of the United Nations by means of Art. 2 para 4 that states the following: All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force

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