Others argue for a standalone offence of ecocide. Some advocate for it to be accommodated within the existing core crimes. There is debate as to what form such an inclusion should take. This has made such a move an increasingly attractive goal for proponents of climate justice, such as Stop Ecocide International. Including environmental crimes in the Rome Statute would extend the offence across the 123 states parties to the statute under its universal jurisdiction principles. Yet, the climate crisis is a global challenge requiring global solutions. International criminal liability for environmental crimes is even more contentious. However, as the climate crisis gains traction in the global psyche, there is a sense that civil litigation and financial penalties are merely planned-for operating expenses for large corporate entities, and that more serious forms of liability are required. Such a decision would make ecocide triable at the International Criminal Court (ICC).Ĭriminal liability for environmental offences is contentious. In the interview, he was arguing why the Rome Statute should be amended to include the crime of ecocide alongside the present four core crimes of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression. The eminent Sands is co-chair of an expert panel set up to draft a legal definition of “ecocide”. “Nothing concentrates the mind better than the prospect of an individual being found criminally liable,” said barrister Phillipe Sands QC in a recent interview with the New Statesman.
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