Environmental protection in international criminal law

Rad ne sadrži sažetak.Today, climate change and environmental destruction are human kinds greatest threat. Concerns of environmental protection seem to be integrated in many aspects of our daily lives. The natural environment continues to be the silent victim of warfare, impact of which “reaches far beyond human suffering, displacement and damage to homes and infrastructure.” Throughout history polluted wells and killed animals have been justified by military necessity. There are more than a few examples of environmental destruction during wartime in our recent history: the deliberate destruction of more than 600 oil wells in Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War; the 1999 bombing of Yugoslavia, leading to toxic chemical contamination at several hotspots; the bombing of the Jiyeh power station during the armed conflict in Lebanon in 2006, which resulted in release of approximately 10,000 to 15,000 tons of fuel oil into the Mediterranean Sea. Decades earlier, the use of the toxic herbicide Agent Orange During the Vietnam War appalled the public. Practices of cloud seeding, and the use of defoliants employed by the US Army had long- and short-term effects on the natural environment and human health. This thesis examines the existing legal framework which protect the environment under international criminal law and circumstances in which the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction would be activated over such a case. Having analyzed the relevant provisions of the Statute of the International Criminal Court regarding environmental issues, it concludes with considerations on extending the ICC’s jurisdiction to a new crime of ecocide