The International Nuremberg Principles Academy actively participated in the 4th Annual Conference of the Center for Truth and Justice (CFTJ) titled “Crime Against Peace: Addressing the Crime of Aggression in a Changing World”, held at the Matenadaran in Yerevan, from 4 to 6 June 2025. The Academy was represented by Dr Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi, President of the Academy's Advisory Council and former President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Professor Dr Christoph Safferling, Director of the Academy, and Dr Gurgen Petrossian, Senior Officer for International Criminal Law. Together with leading international legal scholars and practitioners, they addressed complex dimensions of the crime of aggression in anticipation of the upcoming ICC Review Conference in July 2025 in New York.
Across seven high-level panels and keynote sessions, the conference explored the crime of aggression from diverse perspectives, such as the historical evolution from Nuremberg to the Kampala Amendments; legal justifications and geopolitical challenges, including how states rationalise the use of force; the role of language and hate speech in facilitating aggressive wars; environmental devastation resulting from aggressive acts; corporate involvement and economic enablers in modern wars of aggression; sentencing practices and normative frameworks under the Rome Statute; and procedural implications for both prosecution and defence at the ICC.
The Nuremberg Academy played a prominent role in these discussions. A key outcome of the conference was a resounding call to expand the jurisdictional scope of the Kampala Amendments to the Rome Statute. Participants underscored that, as aggression continues to threaten global peace and stability, the international legal system must strengthen its tools for accountability and deterrence.
As the international community prepares for the July Review Conference, the International Nuremberg Principles Academy reaffirms its commitment to promoting accountability for the crime of aggression and advancing the principles of international criminal justice. (gp)