Description
Under international law, only four acts are currently recognized as international crimes: genocide, aggression, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Nevertheless, it is not inconceivable that new international crimes will be established in the future. Indeed, there is presently a growing global movement, spearheaded by Stop Ecocide International and supported by networks of academics, lawyers, climate activists, governments, and prominent individuals, calling for ecocide to be made into an international crime. This raises a critical question that stands to revolutionize the future landscape of international criminal justice: Will ecocide come to be recognized by the international community as a new international crime? Importantly, this question cannot be answered without an appreciation of the concept of international criminalization. Drawing on a novel theoretical framework directed at analysing how and why the process of international criminalization unfolds, this paper examines ecocide’s prospects of being established as the fifth international crime. Through a systematic analysis of historical and contemporary efforts undertaken by state and non-state actors to criminalize ecocide, the paper will also demonstrate what the dynamics of international criminalization in the 21st century are, as well as how they differ to earlier instances of criminalization in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War.
