Prosecuting Aggression: A New Chapter? Exploring the legal limits of the 2010 Kampala Amendments for prosecution of British nationals for the crime of aggression

Abstract: The question this thesis seeks to address is the legal circumstances under which an individual can be subject to criminal responsibility for committing the crime of aggression. This question is primarily considered in the context of a British national, given the particular situation of the United Kingdom as a State Party to the Rome Statute which has not ratified or accepted the 2010 Kampala Amendments on the crime of aggression, and in light of the recent attempts at prosecuting the crime of aggression at the domestic level. This thesis is therefore divided into three key parts. The first part consists of an overview of the historical developments in regards to the criminalisation of aggression and the historical attempts at prosecution of the crime prior to its inclusion in the Rome Statute adopted in 1998. The second part of this thesis examines the legal discourse of the 2010 Kampala Amendments on the crime of aggression. This includes an analysis of the current state of the law relating to individual criminal responsibility for acts of aggression following the recent developments with the activation of the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction over the crime of aggression from 17 July, 2018. The third and concluding part of this thesis explores the potential limits in prosecuting the crime of aggression at both the international and domestic level, as a result of both the current state of understanding and interpretation of the 2010 Kampala Amendments and the recent attempts at prosecuting the crime in the UK national courts.