Summary:
On Wednesday, February 12, the Ecocide Law Advisory (ELA) project was launched, a joint initiative between the UCLA Law Promise Institute Europe and Climate Counsel to provide expert legal advice, training, and support on the drafting and implementation of ecocide laws.
The ELA, established in response to demand from states, businesses, and civil society for legal expertise on ecocide law, has helped to develop the Manual on the National Criminalisation of Ecocide to address challenges arising from the 2024 EU Environmental Crime Directive and support the effective prosecution of serious environmental harm within the EU.
The Manual is the product of a working group initiated and chaired by former Dutch parliamentarian Lammert van Raan and Sjoerd Lopik of De Roos EU.
The Manual represents the collective outcome of discussions among legal experts, academics, judges, prosecutors, and environmental lawyers and outlines the most pressing challenges to the effective implementation of the ECD and provides practical legal solutions across five key areas:
Unlawfulness: Establishing criminal liability for severe environmental harm, even when carried out under legally issued but flawed authorisations.
Mens Rea: Clarifying the level of intent or negligence required for criminal liability in ecocide cases.
Threshold of Environmental Harm: Defining the severity, scale, and duration of environmental damage necessary to qualify as ecocide.
Offence of Infringement or Endangerment: Determining whether ecocide should be criminalised only when harm occurs or also when there is a serious risk of harm.
Extraterritorial Jurisdiction: Enabling prosecution of ecocide committed outside national borders, particularly when linked to domestic entities.
“The world is facing multiple ecological crises requiring urgent political action, including legislation aimed at environmental protection. One important part of such legislation is the criminalisation of the most serious forms of environmental harm, often referred to as ecocide.”
– Manual for the National Criminalisation of Ecocide, Chapter 1, Introduction, Page 6.
“With the criminalisation of ecocide, you are taking part in a historic process as well as joining a crucial peace initiative. Humanity is at war with nature; we urgently need to make peace again.”
– Lammert van Raan, Afterword, Manual for the National Criminalisation of Ecocide, Page 35.
More information about Ecocide Law Advisory and access to a full downloadable copy of the ‘Manual on the National Criminalisation of Ecocide’ can be found here.
