International environmental crimes and the Rome Statute

Abstract

The topic of this paper is the role of the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) in relation to international crimes against the environment and how it might play an expanded role in prosecuting these. This paper also examines the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“Rome Statute”) and how international crimes against the environment might be better dealt with in the Rome Statute.

The author’s interest in this subject was piqued by news reports about a campaign to declare the mass destruction of ecosystems (or ecocide) as an international "crime against peace" which could be tried at the ICC alongside genocide and crimes against humanity1. This particular campaign suggests the following crime: "The extensive destruction, damage to or loss of ecosystem(s) of a given territory, whether by human agency or by other causes, to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants of that territory has been severely diminished."

There have also been calls for an international “crime against future generations” to be created in respect of which the ICC would have jurisdiction over. This was the subject of an in-depth draft legal working paper by international lawyer and academic, Sebastian Jodoin which was commissioned by the World Future Council.

The overall argument of this paper is that, although the Rome Statute is essentially an anthropocentric document that is not specifically designed for the prosecution of environmental crimes, there are a number of ways the Rome Statute could be amended to provide for the better prosecution of international crimes against the environment. Ultimately an international tribunal, or some other international body, that regulates and prosecutes international environmental offending would probably be more appropriate and effective in terms of deterring environmental offending.