ECOCIDE AND CORPORATE CRIMINAL ACCOUNTABILITY: EXAMINING EMERGING LEGAL FRAMEWORKS FOR PROSECUTING ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES

The accelerating degradation of ecosystems at a planetary scale has prompted growing calls
to establish ecocide — the wilful or negligent large-scale destruction of the natural
environment — as an international crime. This paper examines the conceptual foundations
and evolving legal architecture surrounding ecocide, with particular emphasis on the distinct
challenge of holding corporations criminally accountable for environmental devastation.
Drawing upon the Rome Statute framework, customary international law, and recent
proposals advanced by the Stop Ecocide International Expert Panel, the paper analyses the
structural impediments that have historically insulated corporations from criminal liability in
international law. It further evaluates domestic legal innovations, including the United
Kingdom's Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 and landmark civil
litigation such as Milieudefensie et al v Royal Dutch Shell plc, as emerging analogues that
may inform a viable international framework. The paper concludes that incorporating ecocide
into the Rome Statute, coupled with supplementary domestic enforcement mechanisms and
civil society accountability instruments, offers the most legally coherent pathway to deterring
corporate environmental harm of a catastrophic character.

Keywords: Ecocide, Corporate Criminal Liability, Rome Statute, International Criminal
Law, Environmental Justice, Corporate Accountability