Pirates in Suits: Carl Schmitt, ‘Ordinary Businessmen’ and Crimes of Aggression

The article critically appraises Carl Schmitt’s 1945 expert opinion on The International Crime of the War of Aggression and the Principle ‘nullum crimen, nulla poena sine lege’. Each element of Carl Schmitt’s expert opinion is subjected to close scrutiny and contextualised with references, where appropriate, to the icc’s recently acquired jurisdiction to try crimes of aggression. It is shown that Schmitt’s legal arguments are on the whole tenable but that the expert opinion’s assumptions about the position of the ability of ‘ordinary’ citizens to assess their own actions are very problematic.