European Law Institute 2023

After a year and a half of research and drafting, the prestigious European Law Institute (ELI) has published its Report on Ecocide: Model Rules for an EU Directive and a Council Decision.  The model law draws inspiration from the consensus international definition released by the Independent Expert Panel (June 2021, convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation) while making adjustments for the European Union context and certain legal considerations relevant to EU law.

The model rules include a threshold of recklessness (dolus eventualis) with regard to knowledge and intent; they include provision to address fraud and corruption in the issuing of licenses or authorizations; and also propose to “extend the powers of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office to include offences of ecocide affecting more than one Member State or one or more Member States and one or more third countries.”

The report also sets out the context of developments around ecocide internationally and the growing support for its criminalisation.