Criminalising Environmental Damage through the Introduction of an International Ecocide Law

关于生态灭绝的学术研究是一个相对较新的发展，围绕在国际层面上引入生态灭绝立法的潜在利益和方法的讨论仍然存在分歧和不发达。这为该主题的进一步研究提供了空间（Weisberg 1970; Burke and Celermajer 2021; Higgins 2016）。2021年，一个独立专家小组（IEP）为《罗马规约》修正案起草了一份拟议的生态灭绝法律定义，这是一个关键的进展（Burke and Celermajer 2021; IEP 2021）。然而，如何实施国际生态灭绝法律框架仍未明确。生态灭绝被定义为人类对物种和栖息地的逐步破坏，通常与特定地点和活动有关（Broswimmer 2015; Zierler 2011; End Ecocide 2010）。在国家管辖范围内实施了各种形式的环境和生态灭绝立法（《生态灭绝法2022》；Bettis 2022）。国际法对战时的环境破坏提出了挑战，但对和平时期的环境破坏却没有提出挑战（生态灭绝法2022；环境署2009）。跨学科学者、活动家和非政府组织支持生态灭绝立法，因为它提供了追究肇事者责任的机会（Mehta和Merz 2015； IEP 2021; Mwanza 2018）。然而，一些学者对生态灭绝立法的实际挑战仍持谨慎态度，认为国际刑事法院（ICC）不足以起诉生态灭绝，并质疑生态灭绝行为的复杂性对刑事定罪的适当方法（Killean 2022; Heller 2021; Bauer 1997; Minkova 2021; Jeffrey 2020）。本研究旨在探讨通过引入国际生态灭绝法将环境破坏定为刑事犯罪的范围和重要性。目的：*探索在国际法下将生态灭绝定为犯罪的方法。*确定这些方法对挑战全球环境破坏的价值。*审查土著社区在环境法律实践中的包容或排斥。*确定将生态灭绝定为刑事犯罪的方法，为弱势群体提供最大的发言权。本研究将使用定性方法来探讨引入国际生态灭绝法的范围和重要性。数据将分两个阶段收集。首先，本研究将采用民族志方法，收集环境试验和其他相关国际试验的数据。这些数据将有助于了解有关的法律惯例，特别是如何进行环境审判以及如何将土著社区包括在内或排除在外。第二阶段将涉及对关键行为者进行大约30-40次半结构化访谈。将通过有目的的滚雪球抽样确定个人，包括法院系统行为者以及较低层次的个人，如土著代表和活动家。这个说明性的例子将提供一个洞察相关从业者和那些更接近地面的人的观点，他们通常是最受影响的，在实施国际生态灭绝法的适当方法上。该研究旨在通过发展、重构和丰富现有的学术和政策辩论，为生态灭绝定罪的替代方法提供第一次深入研究，以保护脆弱的社区和自然免受伤害。因此，本研究旨在产生学术和实证两方面的影响。

Scholarship on ecocide is a relatively recent development, with discussions around the potential benefits and approaches of introducing ecocide legislation on the international level remaining divided and undeveloped. This provides scope for further research on the topic (Weisberg 1970; Burke and Celermajer 2021; Higgins 2016). In 2021, there was a pivotal development when an Independent Expert Panel (IEP) drafted a proposed legal ecocide definition for an amendment to the Rome Statute (Burke and Celermajer 2021; IEP 2021). However, it remains unspecified how an international ecocide legal framework could be implemented.Ecocide is defined as the progressive human-induced destruction of species and habitats, typically linked to specific locations and campaigns (Broswimmer 2015; Zierler 2011; End Ecocide 2010). Forms of environmental and ecocide legislation have been implemented under national jurisdictions (Ecocide Law 2022; Bettis 2022). International law challenges environmental damage during wartime, yet not during peacetime (Ecocide Law 2022; UNEP 2009). Interdisciplinary academics, campaigners and non-governmental organisations support ecocide legislation as it provides an opportunity to hold perpetrators accountable (Mehta and Merz 2015; IEP 2021; Mwanza 2018). However, some scholars remain more cautious of the practical challenges of ecocide legislation, suggesting the International Criminal Court (ICC) is insufficient for prosecuting ecocide and questioning the appropriate approach to criminalisation given the complexity of ecocide acts (Killean 2022; Heller 2021; Bauer 1997; Minkova 2021; Jeffrey 2020).This research aims to explore the scope and importance of criminalising environmental damage through the introduction of an international ecocide law. Objectives:* To explore approaches for criminalising ecocide under international law.* To determine the value of these approaches for challenging global environmental damage.* To examine indigenous communities' inclusion or exclusion in environmental legal practices.* To identify what approaches for criminalising ecocide provide vulnerable individuals with the greatest voice.This research will use qualitative methods to investigate the scope and importance of introducing an international ecocide law. Data will be collected in two phases. First, using ethnographic methods, the research will collect data from environmental trials and other relevant international trials. This data will develop an understanding of relevant legal practices, particularly on how environmental trials are conducted and how indigenous communities are included or excluded. The second phase will involve conducting around 30-40 semi-structured interviews with key actors. Individuals will be identified through purposive and snowball sampling and include court system actors alongside individuals lower to the ground, such as indigenous representatives and activists. This illustrative sample will provide an insight into the perspectives of relevant practitioners and those closer to the ground, who are often most effected, on the appropriate approach for implementing an international ecocide law. The research aims to provide the first in-depth examination of alternative methods for ecocide criminalisation through developing, reframing, and enriching existing scholarly and policy debates, towards protecting vulnerable communities and nature from harm. Therefore, the research aims to produce both scholarly and empirical impact.