Ecocide: A Critical and Constructive Approach to Establishing a Fifth Crime Against Peace [Article]

Abstract

Current legal frameworks fail to adequately criminalize international environmental destruction, necessitating a clearly defined international crime against the environment. While the Stop Ecocide Foundation’s proposed Article 8ter aims to establish “ecocide” as such a crime, its formulation remains flawed. This essay is both critical and constructive: it not only analyzes the limitations of Article 8ter but also seeks to resolve them by developing and proposing a new crime of ecocide.