The Crime of Aggression in International Criminal Law

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxiv

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2. The Internationally Wrongful Act of State

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Historical Background of the Criminalization of Aggression

      • Sergey Sayapin

      Pages 3-73

   3. Elements of an Act of Aggression: An Overview of Modern International Law and Practice

      • Sergey Sayapin

      Pages 75-144

3. The Individual Crime

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 145-145

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   2. International Legal Foundations of the Individual Criminal Responsibility for the Crime of Aggression

      • Sergey Sayapin

      Pages 147-198

   3. The Principal Approaches Towards the Criminalisation of Aggression at the National Level

      • Sergey Sayapin

      Pages 199-252

   4. The Crime of Aggression in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

      • Sergey Sayapin

      Pages 253-320

   5. Conclusion

      • Sergey Sayapin

      Pages 321-326

4. Back Matter

   Pages 327-334

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Since after the Second World War, the crime of aggression is – along with genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes – a “core crime” under international law. However, despite a formal recognition of aggression as a matter of international criminal law and the reinforcement of the international legal regulation of the use of force by States, numerous international armed conflicts occurred but no one was ever prosecuted for aggression since 1949. This book comprehensively analyses the historical development of the criminalisation of aggression, scrutinises in a detailed manner the relevant jurisprudence of the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals as well as of the Nuremberg follow-up trials, and makes proposals for a more successful prosecution for aggression in the future. In identifying customary international law on the subject, the volume draws upon a wealth of applicable sources of national criminal law and puts forward a useful classification of States´ legislative approaches towards the criminalisation of aggression at the national level. It also offers a detailed analysis of the current international legal regulation of the use of force and of the Rome Statute´s substantive and procedural provisions pertaining to the exercise of the International Criminal Court´s jurisdiction with respect to the crime of aggression, after 1 January 2017.

• Article 2(4) of the UN Charter
• Crime of aggression
• Customary international law
• International Criminal Court
• Nuremberg and Tokyo trials

• Prevention and Communication Department, ICRC Regional Delegation in Central Asia, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

  Sergey Sayapin

Sergey Sayapin is Legal Advisor at the Regional Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Central Asia. He earned law degrees from universities in Uzbekistan, the United Kingdom and Germany.