THE CRIME OF AGGRESSION - INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW -

Jovašević Prof. dr Dragan (Redovni profesor, Pravni fakultet Univerziteta u Nišu, Niš, Trg kralja Aleksandra 11), jovas@prafak.ni.ac.rs

International criminal law as a system of legal rules contained in the documents of international community and in the documents of national (internal) criminal law provides for criminal liability and punishment for a great number of international crimes, among which the crime of aggression is prominent. This crime is an act of breaking war laws and rules of warfare (international humanitarian law) and also it is an act of harming or imperilling the peace among nations and security of mankind. In certain cases, for perpetrators of this crime the primary jurisdiction is the one of international criminal courts (supranational). In this paper, the author has analysed the notion and characteristics of the crime of aggression from the theoretical and practical aspects in international criminal law and in the criminal law of Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Keywords: International criminal law, crime, aggression, national criminal law, responsibility, penalty