Rome Statute
Part 2: Jurisdiction, Admissibility and Applicable Law

Article Art. 8 bis
Crime of aggression

Mentioned in

Is Amending the Rome Statute the Panacea Against Perceived Selectivity and Impunity for the Crime of Aggression Committed Against Ukraine?

NYU School of Law / Just Security, March 21, 2023

“Amending the conditions for the ICC’s exercise of jurisdiction over the crime of aggression includes complex legal and sensitive political questions… Although desirable, this will not be achievable within a few months…or within one session of the Assembly of States Parties.”
 
Bibliographic info

The International Criminal Court and Ukraine

Parliament of Australia / FlagPost, March 8, 2022

“…Another key feature of international justice is that it prosecutes individuals, not states, therefore neither Russia nor Ukraine as states will ever find themselves in the dock in The Hague. A Russian or Ukrainian individual, including high ranking people, may however…”
 
Bibliographic info

1.

For the purpose of this Statute, “crime of aggression” means the planning, preparation, initiation or execution, by a person in a position effectively to exercise control over or to direct the political or military action of a State, of an act of aggression which, by its character, gravity and scale, constitutes a manifest violation of the Charter of the United Nations.

2.

For the purpose of paragraph 1, “act of aggression” means the use of armed force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations. Any of the following acts, regardless of a declaration of war, shall, in accordance with United Nations General Assembly resolution 3314 (XXIX) of 14 December 1974, qualify as an act of aggression:

(a)

The invasion or attack by the armed forces of a State of the territory of another State, or any military occupation, however temporary, resulting from such invasion or attack, or any annexation by the use of force of the territory of another State or part thereof;

(b)

Bombardment by the armed forces of a State against the territory of another State or the use of any weapons by a State against the territory of another State;

(c)

The blockade of the ports or coasts of a State by the armed forces of another State;

(d)

An attack by the armed forces of a State on the land, sea or air forces, or marine and air fleets of another State;

(e)

The use of armed forces of one State which are within the territory of another State with the agreement of the receiving State, in contravention of the conditions provided for in the agreement or any extension of their presence in such territory beyond the termination of the agreement;

(f)

The action of a State in allowing its territory, which it has placed at the disposal of another State, to be used by that other State for perpetrating an act of aggression against a third State;

(g)

The sending by or on behalf of a State of armed bands, groups, irregulars or mercenaries, which carry out acts of armed force against another State of such gravity as to amount to the acts listed above, or its substantial involvement therein.

Note:

Article 8 bis was inserted by resolution RC/Res.6 of 11 June 2010. See depositary notification C.N.651.2010.TREATIES-8 of 29 November 2010. The UN Treaty Section website detailing the status of the amendment is available at: https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XVIII-10-b&chapter=18&clang=_en.

Source: Article 8 bis — Crime of aggression, https://www.­icc-cpi.­int/Publications/Rome-Statute.­pdf.

Last Updated

Aug. 30, 2023

Art. 8 bis’s source at icc-cpi​.int