Steven Freeland, Addressing the International Destruction of the Environment during Warfare under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (2015)
Proposed article 8 ter of the Rome Statute
Article 8 ter
Crimes against the environment
- For the purposes of this Statute, “crimes against the environment” means employing, within the context of and associated with an armed conflict, a method or means of warfare with intent to cause widespread, long-term or severe damage to the natural environment.
- For the purposes of paragraph 1:
- a person has “intent” to cause widespread, long-term or severe damage to the natural environment where:
- that person means to cause such damage; or
- that person is aware of the substantial likelihood that such damage will occur in the ordinary course of events; or
- that person consciously disregards information that clearly indicates a substantial likelihood that such damage will occur in the ordinary course of events;
- “widespread” means an area on the scale of at least one hundred square kilometers;
- “long-term” means lasting at least for a period of one or more seasons;
- “severe” means serious disruption, degradation or harm;
- “natural environment” includes those ecological, biological and resource systems necessary to sustain continued existence of all forms of human, animal, or plant life;
- “damage to the natural environment” includes but is not limited to circumstances that constitute a concrete endangerment to human life or health, and my include any of the following:
- destruction or degradation of the marine environment, marine wildlife, or marine habitats;
- destruction or degradation of terrestrial fauna and flora, or their habitats;
- pollution of the atmosphere;
- destructive climate modification;
- any other form of environmental destruction, degradation or harm of comparable gravity.
- a person has “intent” to cause widespread, long-term or severe damage to the natural environment where: