FAqs - ECOCIDE & The Law
What is ECOCIDE?
Broadly defined, ecocide means mass damage or destruction to ecosystems, committed with knowledge of the risks.. In other words, serious harm to the natural living world. More detail here. We believe it should be listed as an international crime in the Rome Statute, alongside Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity. We provide potential examples of what such a crime could address here.As of June 2021 there is a fully worked legal definition of ecocide as a potential 5th crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, collaboratively drafted by an expert panel of top international criminal and environmental lawyers convened by our Foundation. For more specific detail on the legal definition and its implications, please go HERE.
This definition is now available for consideration by states interested in progressing an amendment to the Rome Statute.
Does ECOCIDE law protect only humans?
A key aim of a crime of ecocide is to protect not only humans but nature itself, so that destruction of ecosystems can be outlawed even without direct human victims. This was a key consideration in the drafting of a workable legal definition by the expert panel convened by our foundation.
Aren’t we all contributing to ECOCIDE?
Ordinary people who are just trying to make a living are simply not responsible for mass deforestation, chemical pollution or the wholesale destruction of marine species. Ecocide law is not intended to punish end users and ordinary citizens but decision makers at the top level. This legislation is aimed only at those most powerful players in industry and government, where a lack of responsibility and failure to adhere to existing regulation or rights frameworks can result in entire ecosystems being threatened or destroyed.
Don’t we already have environmental laws?
Environmental regulation is mostly in the administrative (not criminal) arena, and where there are defined environmental crimes they are usually quite specific (eg wildlife trafficking, illegal logging or a certain degree of pollution in a certain context). In most of the world there is no legal framework in place to deal with mass damage and destruction per se, so corporate activity follows a path of least resistance, operating most damagingly where there is the least protection, and simply budgeting for civil lawsuits. A crime of ecocide creates a new moral baseline whereby anything causing mass damage or destruction of natural ecosystems will become unacceptable.Why choose the ICC? I have heard that the ICC is ineffective… How can we be sure that it is our best option to prevent harm to the Earth?
There are several reasons for focusing on the ICC:1. Procedure: Amending an existing law is more straightforward than creating a many new ones (eg in individual jurisdictions)
2. Coherence: If the law is adopted there, it is likely to enter the domestic legislation of ratifying countries in the same or similar form, creating coherence across jurisdictions.
3. Solidarity: If the law is adopted there, by definition many countries are supporting it, meaning none of them need to feel politically vulnerable.
4. Transboundary jurisdiction: the biggest polluters are all multinationals.5. Adopting a crime of ecocide as is a route to greater relevance on the world stage for the ICC!.
Finally, we see a crime of ecocide as a potential route to greater relevance on the world stage for the ICC!
Isn’t ecocide covered under other atrocity crimes?
There is some provision for environmental damage covered under war crimes and there may be some (as yet untested) potential to include some aspects of ecocide under crimes against humanity, but most ecosystem destruction happens in peace-time and does not always affect humans directly. We therefore believe that a standalone crime is required.Will Ecocide becoming a crime actually change anything?
Profoundly. Because we use criminal law to help define what is morally acceptable, by outlawing mass damage and destruction to the natural world, we acknowledge the intrinsic value of the Earth and our part in the wider web of life. It is a key turning point enabling our legal framework to begin to actually reflect reality. Damage to ecosystems may still take place, but it will no longer be an accepted norm. As a simple parallel, theft still occurs but we wouldn’t think of de-criminalising it. By criminalising a moral wrong, we provide tools for lawyers to act and speak on behalf of those harmed, and society at large no longer deems it acceptable for the crime to take place.What is the legal process for making ECOCIDE an international atrocity crime?
A Head of State (or more than one) must propose an ecocide amendment to the Rome Statute, governing document of the International Criminal Court. This amendment must be submitted at least 3 months before a meeting of the States Parties to the Rome Statute (usually the Assembly, held every December in The Hague, Netherlands and sometimes at the UN in New York). A simple majority at that meeting enables the amendment to enter into consideration.
A Crime Review Conference may then be convened, or negotiation may progress via formal and informal discussion between representatives of States Parties. With the agreement of at least 2/3 of member states (currently 82 out of 124) the amendment can be adopted into the Statute and ratification and enforcement can proceed. (Any country ratifying can enforce the law in its own domestic legislation.)Have there been previous amendments to the Rome Statute?
Yes, the Crime of Aggression has been added. The amendment enables the ICC to hold leaders individually responsible for waging aggressive war. Some smaller amendments have also been adopted (eg under War Crimes: starvation of civilians, use of chemical weapons).I heard that Ecocide was intended to be in the original draft of the Rome Statute and didn’t make it? How do we know it will make it this time?
Amending a law is very different to drafting a law. At initial drafting stage, those with the most economic and political power can often have the loudest voices and steer the outcome strongly. For an amendment, any member state of the ICC, however small, has equal ability to take it forward following a set procedure. Alliances will still need to be built of course, but there is much more transparency, especially with civil society support of Earth Protectors worldwide. To make your support visible, you can sign up as an “Earth Protector” here.What is the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s connection if any with the UN?
The ICC is an independent institution but there are some links with the UN. For example, the UN security council can refer cases to the ICC, and when an amendment to the Rome Statute is proposed, it must in the first instance be notified to the UN Secretary-General who then notifies the ICC member states.How will the ICC deal with all the ecocide prosecutions?
It won’t have to. The court is based on a mechanism of complementarity, and cases will only be brought at the ICC when a ratifying state is unable or unwilling to prosecute. The prosecution possibilities are therefore quite broad and do not rely exclusively on the ICC.Can ecocide law come into effect immediately?
No. A transition period is necessary - in part because the adoption procedure takes time, and importantly, because corporations and states need time to change practices in order to reduce risk of collapse and humanitarian suffering. However, such transitions can be effected in a limited time when required. Policies brought in overnight during the recent pandemic amply demonstrate the ability of governments to move fast - and current global ecological crisis is rapidly creating a time limit for us.NB Before a single state even ratifies this amendment to international law, and even before it is officially proposed, the concept of ecocide and the presence of a viable legal definition will begin to change the entire global conversation… indeed, that process has already begun.
Is a law of ECOCIDE compatible with economic growth?
It is certainly compatible with a thriving economy - indeed we predict it will soon become imperative for a functioning economy. This is because physical reality is inescapable: without healthy ecosystems, any economic system has an expiry date. Ecocide law helps us to become, and remain, conscious of this. It therefore significantly mitigates risk and encourages stability.Many of the solutions we need to approach a stable co-existence with planetary systems - renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, circular economy and so on - already exist, but are simply not politically and economically supported while the doors to the outdated polluting ways remain open. Closing those doors enables new ones to open - there is no greater spur to innovation than a set of clear parameters, as any entrepreneur knows.
How would ecocide law affect nations which ‘rely’ on potentially ecocidal industries for their economic and social stability?
A managed period of transition will be absolutely necessary to allow such countries to re-direct their economic activity in order to prevent collapse or humanitarian disaster. One of the key considerations of the expert drafting panel behind the new legal definition was precisely how to integrate it with existing law, so that states are able to manage a transition period successfully. It is our intention along with our legal allies to provide suggested models for how this could work to ensure justice and a legal duty of care.Who will be prosecutable?
Ecocide law is intended for the prosecution of persons of superior responsibility - the directing minds in a given situation where the crime of ecocide has been committed. These persons may be ministers of state or CEOs/senior officers of corporations or other bodies responsible for decisions that could lead to ecocide. However the approach of the law will in itself begin to prompt behaviour change in a positive direction. Indeed, we understand this is already beginning to happen. (In our ideal world, nobody gets prosecuted, as everyone is already making healthier decisions by the time the law is adopted.)Who will decide what is and isn’t ECOCIDE?
The criminal courts, according to whether the evidence fits the definition adopted – either the domestic courts of countries which ratify the law or the International Criminal Court (ICC) if a state cannot or will not prosecute.How will the law be enforced?
Once a country ratifies ecocide as a crime at the international level, they are likely also to incorporate it into domestic legislation for prosecution according to their domestic criminal justice system. If ecocide is happening in your country, your government should be the one to prosecute if possible. The International Criminal Court comes into play only if nation states cannot or will not prosecute.Can the law be applied retrospectively?
No. The true goal of introducing ecocide crime is preventative - by the time it is ratified across the world, we trust that the harmful practices it outlaws will have ceased or be in the process of adjusting so as to operate in harmony with natural ecosystems.My community is facing a particular ECOCIDE, can you help me?
Our key focus is not on fighting any one specific ecocidal context or case, but in putting in place an international law - ecocide crime - that is actually capable of addressing cases like yours across the world. Because right now, corporations and governments can do what they are doing because there is no law in place to prevent or prohibit it.
Please also note that we have a Guest Blog featuring campaigns from around the world where communities or ecosystems are facing particular ecocides - please feel welcome to submit a written piece to team@stopecocide.earth.
How long will it take to make ECOCIDE a crime?
The process can take anything from 2 to 7 years in total. However we are not starting from scratch. In December 2019, two sovereign states (Vanuatu and the Maldives) called for serious consideration of an ecocide amendment to the Rome Statute and now there are at least 24 ICC member states discussing it at parliamentary and/or government level, with interested parliamentarians in dozens of countries around the world. So while particular time frames cannot be guaranteed, interest is growing rapidly and we anticipate adoption could be possible as early as 2025-6.Which states are you working with?
Because our work is largely of a diplomatic nature, we cannot share this kind of information until it has first been publicly announced by the relevant governments.
Vanuatu, a leading voice among Pacific ocean states, was the first to announce its collaboration with us, and in December 2019 was the first state to publicly call for consideration of a crime of ecocide (Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, 2nd-7th December 2019).
Please see this page for leading states in the global conversation around ecocide crime.Which countries would be covered by the law?
Any ICC member states which ratify it. Once ⅔ have agreed to add the crime of ecocide to the Rome Statute, the amendment becomes enforceable for those states which ratify one year after they submit their ratification.What if a country (eg US, China) isn’t a member of the ICC?
There is a powerful marginalising effect even in countries which are not members or haven’t ratified.
Importantly, transnational corporations would not be able to operate ecocidal practices in any jurisdiction signed up to the law.
Countries that have ratified the law can enforce it, and any countries subscribing to the principles of universal jurisdiction may also prosecute non-nationals if a perpetrator sets foot in their territory.I am particularly worried about (eg) industrial meat production / 1080 toxins / other specific issues… does ecocide crime cover these?
Once the law is in place, if there is sufficient evidence to fit the legal definition of ecocide, then yes. We believe that legislating to protect nature - and our place in it - is ultimately far more practical than legislating for specific isolated issues. Indeed our failure to effectively do this has brought us to the current crisis point. Quite apart from the range of current destructive practices the law could address, we do not know what ecocidal practices may be in development now or be dreamed up in the future. Outlawing mass damage and destruction by criminalizing ecocide therefore acts as a legal safeguard for humanity and the wider Earth community.Where can I find out more about ECOCIDE law?
Our companion site EcocideLaw.com is now live, and is a comprehensive academic, legal and historical resource on the subject. Please browse it first before sending us lots of questions!