On 15 January 2013, the President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute (“the Assembly), Ambassador Tiina Intelmann (Estonia) welcomed the deposit of the instrument of ratification of the amendments to the Rome Statute on the crime of aggression and on article 8 by H.E. Mr. Jean Asselborn, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Luxembourg. With this deposit, Luxembourg became the fourth State Party to ratify the amendments on the crime of aggression that were adopted in a historic consensus at the 2010 Review Conference of the International Criminal Court (“the Court”) in Kampala.
Ambassador Intelmann recalled the importance of these amendments, “which fulfil a longstanding wish of the international community to empower a permanent Court to hold individuals criminally accountable for the commission of the crime of aggression. I encourage other States Parties to emulate Luxembourg, so that the amendments may enter into force as soon as possible”. She also referred to the appreciation of States Parties for Luxembourg’s continued dedication to the Rome Statute and its steadfast support for the International Criminal Court over the years.
The crime of aggression had been included in the Rome Statute in 1998 while its definition and implementation were deferred to a Review Conference. The amendments adopted in 2010 define the crime of aggression and provide for the conditions for the exercise of jurisdiction over this crime.
The Court may exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression once thirty States have ratified the amendments, and subject to a decision to be taken after 1 January 2017 by the States Parties.