Kampala Review Conference

Kampala Review Conference
Name	Kampala Review Conference
Date	2010
Location	Kampala, Uganda
Convened by	Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute
Subject	Review Conference of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
Outcome	Amendments adopted regarding the crime of aggression

Kampala Review Conference

The Kampala Review Conference was a 2010 diplomatic gathering held in Kampala that convened states parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to review the operation of the court and to consider amendments, notably on the crime of aggression. Delegations from member states of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute participated alongside representatives of international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and legal scholars from institutions such as The Hague Academy of International Law and International Committee of the Red Cross.

Background and Purpose

The conference followed the periodic review mandate established by the Rome Statute adopted in Rome at the Rome Diplomatic Conference on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court and built on discussions in the Assembly of States Parties and the International Criminal Court itself. Key impetus for the Review included debates arising from cases before the International Criminal Court such as situations referred by the United Nations Security Council and self-referrals by states like Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Central African Republic. States parties sought clarity on jurisdictional issues involving the Crime of aggression, complementarity with national courts like the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, and interaction with instruments like the Geneva Conventions and mandates from the United Nations General Assembly.

Preparations and Participants

Preparatory work involved the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute in sessions held at The Hague, expert consultations convened by the Office of the Prosecutor (International Criminal Court), and inputs from NGOs including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the International Federation for Human Rights. States parties such as United Kingdom, France, United States, China, Russia, South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Brazil, India, Japan, Canada, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Argentina, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, Ghana, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Angola, Congo (Republic of the) and Burundi participated. Observers included the United Nations Secretariat, the African Union, the European Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Organization of American States, the League of Arab States, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and regional courts like the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights.

Legal experts from universities and institutes such as Oxford University, Cambridge University, Yale University, Harvard Law School, Columbia Law School, University of Nairobi, Makerere University, University of Pretoria, University of Cape Town, Leiden University, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, European University Institute, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Georgetown University Law Center, King's College London, University of Toronto Faculty of Law, Monash University, National University of Singapore, Peking University School of Transnational Law, Seoul National University, University of Melbourne Law School, University of Buenos Aires, and the Asser Institute provided research.

Proceedings and Key Decisions

Deliberations at Kampala were framed by working groups established by the Assembly of States Parties and by reports from the Independent Expert Advisory Panel and the Special Working Group on the Crime of Aggression. Debates centered on jurisdictional triggers, definitions, and consent mechanisms related to the crime of aggression, with cross-references to precedents from the Nuremberg Trials, the Tokyo Trials, the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, and decisions from the International Court of Justice. Procedural decisions addressed amendment adoption thresholds under Article 121 of the Rome Statute and the role of the United Nations Security Council under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.

Consensus emerged on negotiating a definition of aggression consistent with the Definition of Aggression adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1974 while considering inputs from states including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Panama. Chairs and facilitators such as representatives from Canada, Norway, Australia, South Africa, and Uganda steered plenary sessions and informal consultations.

Amendments and Outcome Documents

The conference produced a package of amendments, most notably a provision on the crime of aggression that addressed leadership responsibility and modalities for the exercise of jurisdiction by the International Criminal Court. Documents included a Protocol on the Crime of Aggression, consequential amendments to the Rome Statute text, and resolutions concerning implementation timelines and ratification procedures. Outcome texts reflected inputs from legal instruments like the Draft Code of Crimes against the Peace and Security of Mankind and engaged with jurisprudence from the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia for comparative points.

Implementation and Impact

Following Kampala, the Assembly of States Parties initiated ratification and activation steps, with thresholds for entry into force tied to ratification by a specified number of states parties. The amendments influenced prosecutorial approaches at the Office of the Prosecutor (International Criminal Court) and prompted legislative reviews in national parliaments including those of Uganda, South Africa, Kenya, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Japan, India, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Portugal, Greece, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Croatia. The Kampala outcomes affected relations with the United Nations Security Council and were cited in academic work at The Hague Academy of International Law, Amsterdam Centre for International Law, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, T.M.C. Asser Instituut, and European Court of Human Rights scholarship.

Controversies and Criticism

Critics from states such as United States, China, Russia and some members of the African Union raised concerns about sovereignty, selective prosecution, and Security Council veto dynamics. NGOs including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International debated the sufficiency of safeguards and the potential for politicization, while scholars at Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Oxford University Faculty of Law, Cambridge University Faculty of Law, and Leiden University published critiques on leadership thresholds and jurisdictional triggers. Debates also touched on interactions with regional mechanisms like the African Union Commission and national courts exemplified by the Constitutional Court of South Africa.

Category:International Criminal Court