Prerequisite: None

Exam Type: No Exam

Known as “the supreme international crime,” aggression describes the illegal use of force by one state against another. Originally formulated in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the crime has proven notoriously difficult to prosecute since then. But in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—and a broader resurgence of international armed conflict across the globe—international lawyers are increasingly considering how acts of aggression can be prosecuted, and what such prosecutions would mean for upholding the prohibition on the use of force at the heart of the UN Charter.

This reading group will explore the origins, historical development, foundational legal doctrines, and contemporary geopolitical implications of the crime of aggression. Drawing on legal conventions, scholarship, and reporting, the course will trace the crime’s evolution, from its original formulation in the charters of the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals to the crime’s current codification in the Rome Statute. The course will also explore contemporary efforts to investigate and prosecute the crime, as well as the challenges lawyers and courts face in doing so. We will investigate such questions as: how might military or political leaders be held responsible for the crime of aggression? How have conceptions of the crime of aggression evolved? What are the moral, political, and legal calculations involved in determining whether a state’s conduct rises to the requisite threshold? To what degree might aggression prosecutions impact the behavior of states, including in determinations relating to using force against other states? The reading group will specifically consider the potential commission of the crime of aggression in contemporary armed conflicts.

Note: This reading group will meet every other week on the following dates: TBD.