The Definition of Aggression was a definition of the term "aggression" adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 14, 1974. The definition was adopted without a vote during the General Assembly's 2319th plenary meeting and attached as an annex to General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX). Although often cited in opposition to military actions, it has no binding force in international law. Perpetrating an act of aggression remains uncriminalised, though it is intended that the International Criminal Court will exercise jurisdiction in this area in future. The United Nations General Assembly (GA) is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations. ... December 14 is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... International law (also called public international law to distinguish from private international law, i. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The definition defined

The adoption of the definition was the culmination of a long process begun in 1923 under the auspices of the League of Nations. On December 18, 1967, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 2330/XXII, which established a Special Committee on the Question of Defining Aggression. This body was comprised of 35 member states: Algeria, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Ecuador, Finland, France, Ghana, Guyana, Haiti, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Madagascar, Mexico, Norway, Romania, Sierra Leone, Spain, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Uganda, the USSR, the United Arab Republic (Egypt), the United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay and Yugoslavia. After seven years of work, it reported back to the General Assembly with draft proposals that formed the basis of the final Definition of Aggression. 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The League of Nations was an international organization founded after the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija in South Slavic languages, Југославија (Serbian, Macedonian Cyrillic): Land of the South Slavs) describes three separate political entities that existed on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe during most of the 20th century. ...

The definition makes a distinction between aggression (which "gives rise to international responsibility") and war of aggression (which is "a crime against international peace". Acts of aggression are defined as armed invasions or attacks, bombardments, blockades, armed violations of territory, permitting other states to use one's own territory to perpetrate acts of aggression and the employment of armed irregulars or mercenaries to carry out acts of aggression. A war of aggression is a series of acts committed with a sustained intent. The definition's distinction between an act of aggression and a war of aggression make it clear that not every act of aggression would constitute a crime against peace; only war of aggression does. States would nonetheless be held responsible for acts of aggression.

Criticisms of the definition

The wording of the definition has been criticised by many commentators. Its clauses on the use of armed irregulars are notably vague, as it is unclear what level of "involvement" would entail state responsibility. It is also highly state-centric, in that it deems states to be the only actors liable for acts of aggression. Domestic or transnational insurgent groups, such as those that took part in the Sierra Leone Civil War and the Yugoslav Wars, were key players in their respective conflicts despite being non-state parties; they would not have come within the scope of the definition. National motto: Unity - Freedom - Justice // Background Main article: History of Sierra Leone The colonial history of Sierra Leone was not placid. ... The Yugoslav wars were a series of violent conflicts in the territory of the former Yugoslavia that took place between 1991 and 2001. ...

The Definition of Aggression also does not cover acts by international organisations. The two key military alliances at the time of the definition's adoption, NATO and the Warsaw Pact, were non-state parties and thus were outside the scope of the definition. ^[1] Moreover, the definition does not deal with the responsibilities of individuals for acts of aggression. It is widely perceived as an insufficient basis on which to ground individual criminal prosecutions. ^[2] NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation[1] (NATO), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, the Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for collective security established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, DC, on 4 April 1949. ... Unofficial Seal of the Warsaw Pact Distinguish from the Warsaw Convention, which is an agreement among airlines about financial liability. ...

Although the Definition of Aggression has often been cited by opponents of conflicts such as the 1999 Kosovo War and the 2003 Iraq War, it has no binding force in international law. The doctrine of Nulla poena sine lege means that, in the absence of binding international law on the subject of aggression, no penalty exists for committing acts in contravention of the definition. It is only recently that heads of state have been indicted over acts committed in wartime, in the cases of Slobodan Milošević of Serbia and Charles Taylor of Liberia. However, both were charged with war crimes, i.e. violations of the laws of war, rather than with the broader offence of "a crime against international peace" as envisaged by the Definition of Aggression. 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Old Farts by the Sometimes-United Nations. ... The term Kosovo War or Kosovo Conflict is often used to describe two sequential and at times parallel armed conflicts (a civil war followed by an international war) in the southern Serbian province called Kosovo (officially Kosovo and Metohia), part of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Iraq war (disambiguation). ... International law (also called public international law to distinguish from private international law, i. ... The phrase Nulla poena sine lege (Latin: no penalty without a law) refers to the legal principle that one cannot be penalised for doing something that isnt prohibited by law. ... Slobodan MiloÅ¡ević Slobodan MiloÅ¡ević   (IPA Serbian Cyrillic: Слободан Милошевић) (20 August 1941 – 11 March 2006) was President of Serbia and of Yugoslavia. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For other people named Charles Taylor, see Charles Taylor (disambiguation). ... In the context of war, a war crime is a punishable offense under International Law, for violations of the laws of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ... The two parts of the laws of war (or Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC)): Law concerning acceptable practices while engaged in war, like the Geneva Conventions, is called jus in bello; while law concerning allowable justifications for armed force is called jus ad bellum. ...

The definition is not binding on the Security Council. The United Nations Charter empowers the General Assembly to make recommendations to the United Nations Security Council but the Assembly may not dictate to the Council. The resolution accompanying the definition states that it is intended to provide guidance to the Security Council to aid it "in determining, in accordance with the Charter, the existence of an act of aggression". ^[3] The Security Council may apply or disregard this guidance as it sees fit. Legal commentators argue that the Definition of Aggression has had "no visible impact" on the deliberations of the Security Council. ^[4] This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is the organ of the United Nations charged with maintaining peace and security among nations. ...

The definition and the International Criminal Court

The project to define the meaning of aggression in international relations was a crucial factor in the creation of the International Criminal Court. The establishment of the court was first proposed in 1949 by the International Law Commission at the request of the UN General Assembly, but the consideration of a draft statute was proposed pending the adoption of a Definition of Aggression. It took another 25 years for the definition to be adopted, but the project was then further postponed. When the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court was finally agreed in 1998, the crime of aggression was included in Article 5 of the Statute. However, the 1974 Definition of Aggression was not used as the basis for that offence, due to disagreements over the definition's usefulness and scope. The Rome Statute states instead that "The Court shall exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression once a provision is adopted in accordance with articles 121 and 123 defining the crime and setting out the conditions under which the Court shall exercise jurisdiction with respect to this crime". ^[5] To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... International Law Comission The International Law Comission was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1947 with the purpose of codifying and promoting international law. ... Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Opened for signature June 17, 1998[1] at Rome Entered into force July 1, 2002 Conditions for entry into force 60 ratifications Parties 99[2] The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (or Rome Statute) is the treaty which established the International... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

References

1. ^ Ingrid Detter Delupis, The Law of War, pp. 69-70. Cambridge University Press, 2000
2. ^ L.F. Damrosch, "Enforcing International Law through Non-forcible Measures", p. 202. Recueil De Cours/Collected Courses, Académie de Droit International de La Haye, 1998
3. ^ Yoram Dinstein, War, Aggression and Self-Defence, p. 118. Cambridge University Press, 2003
4. ^ M.C. Bassiouni and B.B. Ferencz, "The Crime against Peace", International Criminal Law, I, 313, 334 (M.C. Bassiouni ed., 2nd ed., 1999)
5. ^ Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Part 2: Jurisdiction, Admissibility and Applicable Law, Article 5.

See also

• Crime against peace