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book: The Crime of Aggression
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The Crime of Aggression

The Quest for Justice in an Age of Drones, Cyberattacks, Insurgents, and Autocrats
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Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2019

About this book

A gripping behind-the-scenes account of the dramatic legal fight to hold leaders personally responsible for aggressive war

On July 17, 2018, starting an unjust war became a prosecutable international crime alongside genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Instead of collective state responsibility, our leaders are now personally subject to indictment for crimes of aggression, from invasions and preemptions to drone strikes and cyberattacks. The Crime of Aggression is Noah Weisbord’s riveting insider’s account of the high-stakes legal fight to enact this historic legislation and hold politicians accountable for the wars they start.

Weisbord, a key drafter of the law for the International Criminal Court, takes readers behind the scenes of one of the most consequential legal dramas in modern international diplomacy. Drawing on in-depth interviews and his own invaluable insights, he sheds critical light on the motivations of the prosecutors, diplomats, and military strategists who championed the fledgling prohibition on unjust war—and those who tried to sink it. He untangles the complex history behind the measure, tracing how the crime of aggression was born at the Nuremberg trials only to fall dormant during the Cold War, and he draws lessons from such pivotal events as the collapse of the League of Nations, the rise of the United Nations, September 11, and the war on terror.

The power to try leaders for unjust war holds untold promise for the international order, but also great risk. In this incisive and vitally important book, Weisbord explains how judges in such cases can balance the imperatives of justice and peace, and how the fair prosecution of aggression can humanize modern statecraft.

Author / Editor information

Noah Weisbord is associate professor of law at Queen’s University in Canada and served on the International Criminal Court’s working group that drafted the crime of aggression. He lives in Kingston, Ontario.

Reviews

"Richly textured, eminently readable. . . . Masterful. . . . Riveting. . . . Overall, the book’s engaging style and readability make it an ideal companion to a broad variety of courses in international law and international relations. It should also, in my view, be on the recommended reading list for governmental and intergovernmental lawyers, including military lawyers, who must address legal issues related to the use of force and international criminal law. The book provides an especially useful starting point for those lawyers as they begin to wrestle with the complex applications of the crime of aggression in actual practice."---Laura Dickinson, The American Journal of International Law --- "Weisbord’s prophetic voice . . . should be heard and attended to by any human rights organization aiming at genuine pertinency in the 2020s and beyond."---Brian Philips, Journal of Human Rights Practice --- "A remarkable insider’s account of the historical efforts to criminalize wars of aggression."---Payam Akhavan, Global Justice Journal --- "[This] insightful book . . . offers a valuable and provocative thesis . . . . The time is ripe to align with thinkers such as Weisbord, who advance a bold step forward for the restoration of relative peace rather than descend in a hopeless spiral of endless, grievous aggression against fellow human beings."---Shelley Walia, Frontline --- "Noah Weisbord has written as masterful an account of the century of legal toil dedicated to corralling the human urge to wage war as has yet found two covers . . . . Weisbord’s work is that rarest of writings on legal matters: a kind of Decameron, a thoughtfully interconnected set of what might well be abstruse concepts, but told as a series of parables, aperçus, and case studies."---Brendan Howley, Literary Review of Canada

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    Frontmatter

    i
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    Contents

    vii
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    Acknowledgments

    ix
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    Introduction

    1
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    CHAPTER 1. Is Law Dead?

    9
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    CHAPTER 2. Timeslip: Invasion of the Crimea, Collapse of the League of Nations

    21
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    CHAPTER 3. The Nuremberg Avant-Garde Moment

    45
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    CHAPTER 4. Cold War Jus ad Bellum: Law of Force vs. Rule of Law

    53
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    CHAPTER 5. Nuremberg Renaissance: The 1990s

    71
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    CHAPTER 6. The Crime of Aggression: From Rome to Kampala

    89
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    CHAPTER 7. Judging Wars

    113
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    CHAPTER 8. Sci-fi Warfare

    133
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    CHAPTER 9. You’re under Arrest, Mr. President

    151
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    CHAPTER 10. Activation

    169
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    Notes

    179
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    Index

    247
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    Human Rights and Crimes against Humanity

    259
    Eric D. Weitz
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
May 20, 2019
eBook ISBN:
9780691191355
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
View content
https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691191355
eBook ISBN: 9780691191355
Keywords for this book
Crime of aggression; International law; Prosecutor; International Criminal Court; War; Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; World War II; Nuremberg principles; War crime; Crime against peace; Nuremberg trials; International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia; United Nations Security Council; Jurisdiction; Precedent; Nuremberg; Indictment; Warfare; Humanitarian intervention; Rule of law; Terrorism; Politics; International criminal law; Law of war; Sovereignty; International Court of Justice; Treaty; Great power; Lawfare; Nuremberg Charter; Crime; Saddam Hussein; Lawyer; Member state; International relations; Territorial integrity; War of aggression; Amendment; Soviet Union; Invasion of Kuwait; Blockade; Declaration of war; Vladimir Putin; Assassination; Act of Aggression; Al-Qaeda; Reprisal; Defendant; Arrest warrant; Omar al-Bashir; Responsibility to protect; League of Nations; Adolf Hitler; Judicial interpretation; Impunity; Right of self-defense; George W. Bush; Mercenary; Rwanda; Torture; Weapon of mass destruction; Customary international law; Military operation; David Scheffer; Peacekeeping; Authorization; Legal Advisor (Office for the Administrative Review of the Detention of Enemy Combatants); Insurgency; Jus ad bellum; Nuclear weapon
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
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