Expert panel discusses policy options in ratifying the Kampala amendments: At an event organized in celebration of International Justice Day, 17 July, experts discussed the policy dimension of the Kampala Amendments. Christian Wenaweser, Permanent Representative of Liechtenstein to the UN, emphasized that it was unlikely that the ICC’s focus on genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes would change, even after the activation of the aggression amendments in 2017. Beth van Schaack, Professor at Santa Clara Law, sounded a note of caution, noting that a number of issues regarding the aggression amendments still needed to be resolved, and that States should be cautious in implementing the amendments. Focusing on Eastern Europe, Andrej Logar, Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the UN said States from the region were leaders in ratifying the Kampala Amendments. His own country had both ratified and implemented the amendments. The ICC would be ready to deal with the crime when it was activated, said Sang-Hyun Song, President of the Court, though adjustments to the rules and regulations of the Court, as well as in the budget, may become necessary.
In the subsequent discussion, Spain and Poland announced that their national ratification processes were coming to an end, and that they hoped to deposit their instruments of ratification by the end of September.