The International Application of "Ecocide" as a Standalone International Crime

Abstract

  This study examines the international application of "ecocide" as a standalone crime   focusing on the legal gap in defining its material and mental elements to ensure applicability to corporations and states in peacetime، not only during armed conflict. The research problem lies in the absence of a binding international instrument criminalizing large-scale environmental destruction outside war contexts، and the difficulty of setting a precise damage threshold for international prosecution .The study pursues three objectives: (1) analyzing the proposed legal definition of ecocide through comparative legal analysis; (2) assessing the capacity of the current ICC framework to accommodate ecocide as a fifth core crime; and (3) exploring challenges in extending criminal liability to non-state actors، particularly transnational corporations. It hypothesizes that codifying ecocide is legally feasible and normatively necessary، provided a dual standard combining objective environmental harm with subjective recklessness is adopted .Using a comparative analytical method based on treaty law، customary law، international jurisprudence، national legislation، and legal scholarship across civil law and common law traditions، the study finds: (1) ecocide has sufficient doctrinal grounding in existing international environmental and humanitarian law; (2) the main obstacle is precision in harm thresholds and men's rea; (3) corporate liability under international law is underdeveloped yet evolving; and (4) comparative national models offer viable reform pathways. The study recommends amending the Rome Statute to include ecocide as Article 8، establishing a graduated harm threshold، and creating a specialized Environmental Chamber within the ICC.