Recommended Citation
Giovanni Chiarini,
Ecocide in War and Peace, From the Air Pollution Consequences of the War in Ukraine to Japan's Disposal of Fukushima Water into the Ocean,
56 Case W. Res. J. Int'l L.
239
(2024)
Available at:
https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/jil/vol56/iss1/13
Abstract
This Article will propose and analyze potentially prosecutable cases of alleged global ecocide and propose targeted amendments to Articles 36(3) and (5) of the ICC Rome Statute. These proposed amendments may serve as a blueprint to procedurally ensure environmental expertise at the international judicial level. Ecocide is unfortunately not currently recognized under the Rome Statute. However, certain scholars have suggested defining it as a fifth international crime. This analysis identifies environmental crises, international criminal law expectations and examines the environmental pollution caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Japanese government’s decision to dispose of radioactive treated water from the wrecked Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear site as examples. These templates vindicate the Article’s recommendation of a need for a Special Prosecutor for Ecocide, recognizing the ICC as the proper court for ecocide prosecution.