Environmental Harm as a Crime under the Rome Statute

Abstract

This chapter inquires if environmental harm could constitute one of the enumerated crimes under the Rome Statute: whether as genocide, a crime against humanity, a war crime, or aggression. In doing so, it first looks to the parameters governing jurisdiction and admissibility at the ICC. It then assesses the substantive provisions of the Rome Statute of the ICC, including their contextual requirements, the underlying acts, and the mental elements required to establish them.

Keywords: International Criminal Court, Ecocide, Rome Statute, War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, International Environmental Law, Ecocentric, Anthropocentric