Italy has proudly been at the forefront of the promotion of the ICC since its very foundation the diplomatic conference that led to adoption of the Statute, for instance, was held in Rome and Italy was the fourth State ratifying this latter with the adoption of Law 12 July n. In the Italian Parliament has then approved Law 20 December n. In , the Italian Senator Alberto Airola submitted a draft law aiming at ratifying the Kampala amendments, including the one relating to article 8bis of the Rome Statute providing a definition of the crime of aggression.
This draft law was approved by the Italian Senate back in January and, on 4 November , by the Camera dei Deputati. This blog post is structured as follows.
First, a section will summarise the main historical passages that led to the adoption of a definition of the crime of aggression under the ICC Statute, with a particular attention to the Italian position when relevant. Second, a section will provide an overview of the process that led to the adoption of the said Italian draft law and highlight the main concerns raised during the parliamentary debate which preceded its adoption, including the so-called leadership clause and naval blockade as one of the acts of aggression listed in paragraph 2 of article 8bis ICC Statute.
Lastly, a short section will summarise the main conclusions of this post. At the Diplomatic Conference in Rome, the crime of aggression was inserted among those crimes the Court had ratione materiae jurisdiction, but it was at the same time decided that, pursuant to article 5, paragraph 2, ICC Statute, the Court could exercise its jurisdiction over this crime only once States Parties to the ICC Statute could agree on a definition to be adopted on the occasion of a Review Conference organised no sooner than seven years from the entry into force of the Statute.
The amendment containing article 8bis ICC Statute was adopted by consensus in on the occasion of the first Review Conference of the Statute, organised in Kampala, Uganda. First, pursuant to article 15bis, paragraph 2, ICC Statute the Court could exercise its jurisdiction only one year after the ratification of the amendment by at least 30 States.
