International and national legal regulation of ecocide: retrospective analysis and current state
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61345/1339-7915.2024.5.23Keywords:
ecocide, Rome Statute, armed conflicts, crimes against the environment, International Criminal Court, criminal liability, environmental damageAbstract
The article examines the peculiarities of the international legal regulation of ecocide. The historical prerequisites for the recognition and necessity of legal settlement of crimes against nature are analyzed. Historical examples of ecocide were highlighted as a separate aspect, primarily in Ancient Greece, during the First and Second World Wars, the Vietnam War, as well as in a number of other armed conflicts. Today, the war in Ukraine and its enormous negative consequences and dangers to nature and the lives and health of people it poses have intensified the processes of international recognition of ecocide as a crime against nature and humanity. A retrospective analysis of the recognition of ecocide made it possible to distinguish four stages of this process, which began in the 1970s. Attention is focused on the importance of legal regulation of the crime of ecocide both in the international and national space. An analysis of historical features and modern approaches to the definition of the concept of “ecocide” was carried out, and an assessment was given to them. Based on the results of the analysis, the key features that distinguish ecocide from other crimes against the environment have been identified. International lawyers and experts conduct active discussions and try to achieve the inclusion of ecocide in the list of crimes defined by the Rome Statute (genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and acts of aggression). This would make it possible to criminalize ecocide at the international level and launch the mechanism of international legal responsibility. A conclusion was made about the inconsistency of the current state of legal regulation of ecocide at the international level and the need to solve this problem as soon as possible in order to create a legal basis for the future prosecution of those guilty of crimes against nature.
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