Ion GÂLEA*

University of Bucharest

Abstract: This study follows up on the most difficult question that remained to be solved after the adoption of the Kampala Amendment, that may lead, if not properly addressed, to shaking consensus for the activation of the jurisdiction of the ICC for the crime of aggression. The interpretation problem concerns the “matrix” of establishing jurisdiction, in the case of an alleged crime of aggression related to an act of aggression committed by a State Party to the Rome Statute which has not ratified or accepted the Kampala Amendment, on the territory of a State Party which has ratified or accepted the Kampala Amendment. The study attempts to argue that the problem is linked to the interpretation of the Rome Statute itself and tries to apply the rules of interpretation of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties to the question.

Key-words: International Criminal Court, crime of aggression, jurisdiction, Kampala Amendment

* Ion Gâlea is Senior Lecturer in Public International Law and International Organizations at the Faculty of Law of the University of Bucharest. He held the position of director general for legal affairs (legal advisor) within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania between 2010 and 2016. Currently, he is Ambassador of Romania to the Republic of Bulgaria. The opinions expressed in this paper solely the author’s and do not engage the institutions he belongs to.