Chile and The Netherlands ratify Amendments to the Rome Statute on the crime of aggression
On 23 September 2016, Chile and The Netherlands deposited their instrument of ratification of the amendments to the Rome Statute on the crime of aggression, thus bringing the total number of ratifications to 32. Both countries also ratified the amendment to article 8 of the Rome Statute.
The President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, H.E. Mr. Sidiki Kaba, welcomed the ratification of the amendments by Chile and The Netherlands as an encouraging development. "We hope that the ratification of the amendments on the crime of aggression by Chile and The Netherlands will encourage more States Parties to ratify the amendments by 2017 and beyond", said Minister Kaba.
The Review Conference of the Rome Statute, held in 2010 in Kampala (Uganda), adopted, inter alia, a set of amendments relating to the definition of the crime of aggression and the provisions for the exercise of the Court's jurisdiction.
The Court may exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression after 1 January 2017, once thirty States Parties have ratified the amendments, and subject to a decision by the Assembly to activate that jurisdiction.
Chile and The Netherlands deposited their instruments of ratification of the Rome Statute on 29 June 2009 and 17 July 2001, respectively. Chile ratified the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Court on 26 September 2011, while The Netherlands had done so on 24 July 2008.