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A war of aggression, sometimes also war of conquest, is a military conflict waged without the justification of self-defense, usually for territorial gain and subjugation, in contrast with the concept of a just war.
Wars without international legality (i.e. not out of self-defense nor sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council) can be considered wars of aggression; however, this alone usually does not constitute the definition of a war of aggression; certain wars may be unlawful but not aggressive (a war to settle a boundary dispute where the initiator has a reasonable claim, and limited aims, is one example).
In the judgment of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, which followed World War II, "War is essentially an evil thing. Its consequences are not confined to the belligerent states alone, but affect the whole world. To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole."[1][2]
Article 39 of the United Nations Charter provides that the UN Security Council shall determine the existence of any act of aggression and "shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken in accordance with Articles 41 and 42, to maintain or restore international peace and security".
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The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court refers to the crime of aggression as one of the "most serious crimes of concern to the international community", and provides that the crime falls within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). However, the Rome Statute stipulates that the ICC may not exercise its jurisdiction over the crime of aggression until such time as the states parties agree on a definition of the crime and set out the conditions under which it may be prosecuted. At the Kampala Review Conference on 11 June 2010, a total of 111 State Parties to the Court agreed by consensus to adopt a resolution accepting the definition of the crime and the conditions for the exercise of jurisdiction over this crime.[3] The relevant amendments to the Statute entered into force on July 17, 2018 after being ratified by 35 States Parties.[4]
Possibly the first trial for waging aggressive war is that of the Sicilian king Conradin in 1268.[5]
- ^ The International Military Tribunal for Germany (1946), Judgment of the International Military Tribunal for the Trial of German Major War Criminals: The Nazi Regime in Germany, The Avalon Project, Yale University
- ^ Broomhall, Bruce (2003). International justice and the International Criminal Court (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-19-925600-6.
- ^ "Resolution RC/Res.6 !" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
- ^ Whiting, Alex (2017-12-19). "Crime of Aggression Activated at the ICC: Does it Matter?". Just Security. New York: New York University School of Law. Archived from the original on 2022-05-13. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
- ^ Cryer, Robert; et al. (2010). An introduction to international criminal law and procedure (2nd ed.). Cambridge [UK]: Cambridge University Press. p. 312. ISBN 978-0-521-13581-8.