The Princeton Process on the Crime of Aggression: Materials of the Special Working Group on the Crime of Aggression, 2003-2009

Abstract

From 2003-2009, the Special Working Group on the Crime of Aggression, created by the Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC), struggled with the question of how to define the crime of aggression. The Group was also mandated to specify the conditions under which the ICC should be allowed to prosecute this crime, in particular in light of the responsibility of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security. The Group, which was open to government representatives from all states, made most of its remarkable progress at informal meetings hosted by the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination at Princeton University. This compilation of documents related to the "Princeton Process"—five rounds of intergovernmental negotiations held by the UN's Special Working Group on the Crime of Aggression (SWGCA) at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School in 2004-2009—captures the complexities of the issues at stake. The volume includes all reports of the SWGCA, as well as selected documents that provide context for the reports.