International court to prosecute environmental crimes in major shift
The International Criminal Court is not known for prosecuting people responsible for huge oil slicks, chopping down protected rainforests or contaminating pristine land. But these people may now one day find themselves on trial in The Hague, writes Tara Smith Lecturer in Law, Bangor University, in The Conversation (https://theconversation.com/why-the-international-criminal-court-is-right-to-focus-on-the-environment-65920).
She goes on to explain “The move was announced by chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in a recent policy document that contains a new and welcome focus on the prosecution of individuals for human atrocities that are committed by destroying the environment in which we live and on which we depend.”
“The document doesn’t change the law applied by the court. There is no new crime of ecocide for instance. Instead, it sets out the types of cases that the court will now select and prioritise for prosecution. These will include the illegal exploitation of natural resources, cases of environmental destruction, and “land grabbing”, where investors buy up vast areas of poor countries.”
an oil palm plantation. Rich Carey / Shutterstock
