The Crime of Ecocide: Scenarios and Perspectives

Although the crime of ecocide has not been currently expressly criminalised at the international level, it has long been the subject of intense debate aimed at defining the methods and timing of its criminalisation. After tracing its origins and historical evolution, this paper intends to first recall the main proposals put forward for this purpose, particularly those of the Stop Ecocide Foundation and the Center for Criminal Justice and Human Rights of UCC University College Cork, aimed at introducing this crime into the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. These proposals - although they are not entirely satisfactory - need to be improved in terms of scope within the territories where the crime can be prosecuted, considering the relevance of States such as Russia, China, or the USA that are not signatories to the Statute. Therefore, reference is made to further initiatives recently promoted by the European Union and the Council of Europe. In the final two sections, the paper intends to offer proposals, with special reference to the degree of culpability that is necessary to prosecute the perpetrator of the offence, and the possibility of using reward mechanisms following reparative conducts. In accordance with the principle of legality, the purpose is to allow a more precise classification of the crime, and, in the perspective of proportionality, to evaluate the punishment accordingly, depending on the severity of the harm caused.