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International Criminal Law and the Protection of the Environment: Annotated bibliography

We welcome relevant working papers for inclusion in this bibliography – please contact us with details.

Citlali Rovirosa-Madrazo, Eurocentrism and Anthropocentrism in International Law? Obstacles for the criminalisation of Ecocide at the ICC. (2023)

There are inescapable problems within the West’s approach to state sovereignty and, hence, international law whose inherent Eurocentric and anthropocentric elements must be addressed as we enter a new phase in the Ecocide Law (EL) debate. Deconstructing the epistemological foundations of western thought and jurisprudence, and their distinctively anthropocentric and Eurocentric approach to nature and indigenous peoples, is one of the aims of this paper. I will examine how some of the former came to be, and I will explore their repercussions for indigenous peoples and the impact on nature more generally. I will then go on to make the case that robust protection of indigenous peoples – particularly their rights to self-
determination, collective land ownership and territories– is crucial for the effective criminalisation of Ecocide and to further advance Earth jurisprudence. This paper considers some of the anthropological differences between the Western and indigenous jurisprudence/cosmovision and goes on to argue that the existing international body of law pertaining to indigenous peoples and rights is no longer sufficient to tackle today’s bioclimate challenges. Each instrument devised within the auspices of the UN in recent decades/years geared towards the safeguarding of the rights of the indigenous nations will become meaningless if an international legal framework to criminalise Ecocide is not established.
Advancing national constitutional reforms towards protecting the rights to self-determination of the indigenous peoples is essential for the international criminalization of Ecocide, and vice versa , the latter is sine quan nem for
the former to be enforced.
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Krishnee A Appadoo, The link between ecocide and environmental justice: a study of SIDS and Latin American countries (2023)

As the impacts of environmental degradation and climate change are becoming increasingly visible, it is undeniable that global South countries, especially Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are bearing most of the brunt of the environmental crisis. As stewards of the environment, we have the responsibility to protect our natural world from anthropogenic climate change, the rapid extinction of species, annihilation of habitats, and ecological collapse. However, despite the existence of a wide range of international agreements which are meant to safeguard the natural environment, it is disappointing to note that our planet is reeling from an ecological malaise. It therefore becomes fundamental to make those responsible for destroying our Earth legally accountable for their actions. This can be achieved through the leverage of international criminal law. Weisberg (1970) was the first one to coin the term “ecocide” and he defined it as “the wilful destruction of the environment”. From being applied to describe the massive environmental destruction caused by the US during the Vietnam War, to the Russian attacks on Ukrainian nuclear facilities, as well as oil extraction in Canada and mining in Venezuela, the term ecocide is gaining traction as a potential tool to not only persecute those who wreak havoc against our planet, but also to deter the commission of environmental harm. The purpose of this research will be to study the link between the potential crime of ecocide and environmental justice. To achieve this, the study will focus on how the proposed amendment to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) could be used to effectively prosecute those responsible for deliberate environmental degradation in the global South. For the purposes of this study, the author will focus on the impact of the introduction of the crime of ecocide vis- à -vis SIDS and Latin American countries.

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