The crime of aggression will join war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide as crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC. Since the closure of the Tokyo tribunal in 1948, no international court has held jurisdiction over the crime of aggression. In 2010, the member states of the ICC reached such a consensus, defined the crime, and provisionally added the crime of aggression to the jurisdiction of the court. Another route to the ICC is possible, but it requires the aggressor state to be an ICC member and to have accepted the amendments on the crime of aggression. Meanwhile, China, Russia, and the United States continue to refuse to join the ICC at all.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 26, 2017 16:07 UTC