Criminalising ‘Ecocide’ at the International Criminal Court

13 Pages Posted: 27 Apr 2021

See all articles by Peter F. Doran

Peter F. Doran

Queens University Belfast - School of Law

Rachel Killean

The University of Sydney - Faculty of Law; Queen's University Belfast School of Law

Mary-Carmen McDermott

Queen's University Belfast, Students

Karena McErlean

Queen's University Belfast, Students

Lydia Millar

Queen's University Belfast, Students

Stephanie Rodgers

Queen's University Belfast, Students

Date Written: April 16, 2021

Abstract

Throughout the twentieth and twenty first centuries, untenable economic development and excessive depletion of environmental resources have devastated the relationship that humans share with the natural world. As knowledge and concern regarding environmental destruction has become ever more widespread, the criminalisation of ‘ecocide’ has increasingly been debated by academics, activists, politicians and legal professionals. In 2020, the Stop Ecocide campaign convened a panel of experts, tasked with drafting a definition of ecocide capable of being incorporated into the International Criminal Court’s mandate. In this briefing, we explore 1) the history of ecocide as a proposed international crime; 3) the current gap in accountability for crimes against the environment; 4) the potential benefits of ecocide’s criminalisation; and 5) the prospects for a future crime of ecocide.

Keywords: Ecocide; International Criminal Law; International Criminal Court; Environmental Crime

Suggested Citation

Doran, Peter F. and Killean, Rachel and McDermott, Mary-Carmen and McErlean, Karena and Millar, Lydia and Rodgers, Stephanie, Criminalising ‘Ecocide’ at the International Criminal Court (April 16, 2021). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3827803 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3827803

Peter F. Doran

Queens University Belfast - School of Law ( email )

28 University Square
Stormont
Belfast, Northern Ireland BT5 7BG
United Kingdom

Rachel Killean (Contact Author)

The University of Sydney - Faculty of Law ( email )

New Law Building, F10
The University of Sydney
Sydney, NSW 2006
Australia

Queen's University Belfast School of Law ( email )

School of Law
Belfast BT7 1NN, BT7 1NN
Ireland

Mary-Carmen McDermott

Queen's University Belfast, Students

25 University Square
Belfast
Ireland

Karena McErlean

Queen's University Belfast, Students

25 University Square
Belfast
Ireland

Lydia Millar

Queen's University Belfast, Students

25 University Square
Belfast
Ireland

Stephanie Rodgers

Queen's University Belfast, Students

25 University Square
Belfast
Ireland

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