Suchergebnisse

In order for ecocide to be recognized as international law, the International Criminal Court's Statute of Rome would have to be amended with the consent of 86 countries. Can political leaders and corporate executives be held accountable if the United States commits ecocide? To begin with, the International Criminal Court (ICC) was established to try those who had committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide. In order to prevent ecocide, it is necessary to consider not just human groups, but also the environment. Can we anticipate a genuine ecocide trial to take place in the near future now that the pretend court has been adjourned? In reference to the same battle, the then-Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme branded it as an "outrage of ecocide" two years later. Lawyer turned legal environmental activist, Polly Higgins, the organizer of the trial, urged to the United Nations that ecocide — the systematic destruction of ecosystems — be designated as the fifth international crime against peace. Despite the fact that a fake ecocide trial was a wonderfully entertaining event, the ramifications of the trial might have serious consequences for economic and governmental decision makers. Those who support the new definition, on the other hand, aim to establish ecocide as a distinct crime with the same symbolic and normative power as genocide. The idea of ecocide, on the other hand, refers to the treatment of nature and nonhuman animals as beings with intrinsic worth and rights that must be respected.

The post Defining Ecocide appeared first on Völkerrechtsblog.

The post Webinar-Reihe: Criminalizing Ecocide appeared first on Völkerrechtsblog.

Belgium's new ecocide provision has been hailed as a resounding victory for environmental activists, particularly so for the burgeoning Stop Ecocide campaign. But is the widespread excitement justified? Can the new law deliver on the lofty expectations? And how does it fit within the soon-to-be adopted revision of the Environmental Crime Directive at the EU level? Despite constituting a highly symbolic step, I argue that the Belgian law's constrained scope makes it a toothless tool to punish environmental outlaws in practice.

The destruction of the Kakhovka dam and consequent damage to housing and flooding of tens of thousands of hectares of land, is reportedly causing severe harm to humans and nature. This blogpost argues, first, that the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam potentially violated prohibitions under multiple fields of international law, but that challenges will nonetheless arise in establishing criminal responsibility for those violations due to the distinct elements of the relevant criminal provisions and the heightened burden of proof on the prosecution in such cases. Because various normative systems are applicable to the facts, ranging from international humanitarian law, international criminal law, and international environmental law, a means of reconciling conflicts of norms will be required. This will be best served by an approach of complementary interpretation.

Explores the devastating impact of militarism on much of the American West. This can be compared to the ecological disasters afflicting large parts of the former Soviet Union, and Green movements in the two areas have learnt from one another. The photographs of Richard Misrach, Carole Gallagher and others provide clues for the reconstruction of a major disaster zone and echoes of the utopian hopes which inspired the pioneer surveyors of the West. (Original abstract-amended)