Can the law defend the earth?
On June 22, after six months of deliberation, a panel of legal experts released a definition of ecocide with the intention that it will be adopted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The draft law states that ecocide is “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts”.
The idea of ecocide was floated in the 1970s in reaction to the spraying of a herbicide known as Agent Orange by the US army over Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to draw out guerrilla soldiers. The act decimated wildlife and caused horrific birth defects and cancers over the years. Just as we are beginning to suffer the effects of the climate crisis at scale around the world the idea that egregious crimes against the environment should be placed alongside the four crimes that the ICC prosecutes has taken form.
While there has been support for this idea among political leadership of a few countries, two thirds of the member countries of the ICC would have to ratify for ecocide to get enshrined into law. This won’t happen any time soon. But the proposal itself should have some impact — investors might hesitate in financing projects where the CEOs could be seen as war criminals.
There are other ways in which the law is being wielded against environmental destruction. As of 2021 “right-of-nature” legislation which recognises an ecosystem’s right to exist as living beings exists in some form or another in 17 countries. The human right to a healthy environment, meanwhile, is recognized in over a 100 countries and is being championed around the world.
Links:
- The website for Ecocide law draft: https://ecocidelaw.com/
- If you want to read a little about the context of release of the draft law: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jun/22/legal-experts-worldwide-draw-up-historic-definition-of-ecocide
- Vice on ecocide law, it’s history and future:
