The Future of “Ecocide” as the Fifth Crime in International Law in the Context of Environmental Security

Key findings from this study

• The study found that multiple national criminal codes have incorporated ecocide provisions since 1997, with Belgium becoming the first EU member state to recognize it in 2024.
• The research demonstrates that current international juridical systems provide insufficient support for environmental security initiatives despite theoretical advances in security studies.
• The authors propose that codifying ecocide as a fifth international crime would formalize environmental protection within the Rome Statute framework alongside genocide and crimes against humanity.

Overview

This study examines the potential codification of ecocide as a fifth international crime within the Rome Statute framework, analyzing its relationship to environmental security and the Copenhagen School's five-sector security analysis. The research positions ecocide as a response to gaps in international juridical systems for addressing environmental degradation. It explores how national legal systems have incorporated ecocide provisions and assesses the implications for international security architecture. The analysis situates ecocide within post-Cold War security paradigms that extend beyond traditional military concerns to encompass environmental dimensions.

Methods and approach

The research employs document analysis methodology to examine ecocide legislation across multiple jurisdictions and international legal frameworks. The study reviews criminal codes from Armenia, Belarus, Belgium, Chile, Ecuador, France, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova, alongside international instruments including the Rome Statute and Paris Convention. It applies the Copenhagen School's five-sector security framework to analyze environmental security dimensions. The analysis draws on legal scholarship, policy documents, and international declarations to assess the development and implications of ecocide as an international crime.

Results

The research identifies that multiple national jurisdictions have already incorporated ecocide into their domestic criminal codes, including post-Soviet states and European countries. Belgium emerged as the first European Union member state to recognize ecocide as an international crime in 2024. The study documents legislative provisions across varied legal traditions, from the 1997 Belarus and Kazakhstan criminal codes to the 2024 Belgian legislation. France amended its criminal code in 2021 to include environmental offenses, while Ecuador incorporated environmental protection into its 2014 Código Orgánico Integral Penal.

The analysis reveals ongoing advocacy efforts to establish ecocide within the International Criminal Court framework, particularly through initiatives led by Vanuatu and other Pacific states. The research traces conceptual development from Richard Falk's 1973 framing of environmental warfare to the 2012 proposal by legal scholars for ecocide as a fifth crime against peace. The study connects environmental degradation to international security through the Copenhagen School's expanded security framework, which incorporates political, economic, environmental, and social elements alongside military dimensions. The research demonstrates that current international juridical systems provide insufficient support for environmental protection efforts despite advances in environmental security discourse.

Implications

The findings suggest that national-level codification of ecocide creates precedent for international recognition, though disparities in legal definitions and enforcement mechanisms persist across jurisdictions. The study indicates that environmental security concerns require formalization through international criminal law to achieve effective deterrence. The research demonstrates that the gap between environmental security theory and international legal frameworks undermines prevention of environmental degradation. Integration of ecocide into the Rome Statute would represent institutional acknowledgment that environmental destruction threatens international security at levels comparable to genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and aggression.

The analysis indicates that emerging ecocentric legal frameworks challenge state-centric international law paradigms by recognizing ecosystems and non-human species as subjects requiring protection. The research positions ecocide legislation within broader transitions in security conceptualization from narrow military focus to multidimensional threat assessment. The study implies that successful codification requires reconciling diverse national approaches and establishing standardized definitional criteria for prosecutable environmental destruction. The work suggests that international criminal law expansion to environmental domains reflects evolving understanding of existential threats in the Anthropocene era, linking ecological stability to human security and global order maintenance.

Scope and limitations

This summary is based on the study abstract and available metadata. It does not include a full analysis of the complete paper, supplementary materials, or underlying datasets unless explicitly stated. Findings should be interpreted in the context of the original publication.