Ecocide Law Advisory is a partnership between The UCLA Law Promise Institute Europe and Climate Counsel to provide expert legal advice and training on the drafting and implementation of ecocide laws. To date, advice has been provided to national law makers in Belgium, Brazil, Iceland, The Netherlands, Scotland, Ukraine and the UK, as well as to members of the EU Parliament on the revision of the EU Environmental Crimes Directive.
Ecocide Law Advisory provides tailored advice and training to >>>
We also develop scholarship and reflection on the crime of ecocide, including through the comprehensive resource hub www.ecocidelaw.com
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Working Group on National Criminalization of Ecocide
Ecocide Law Advisory is partnering on a new initiative - the Working Group on National Criminalization of Ecocide - to assist lawmakers to implement the new EU Environmental Crime Directive. The Directive entered into force in May 2024, and must be implemented in member states across the Union within 2 years.
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EU Environmental Crime Directive
The new Environmental Crime Directive was adopted on 11 April 2024 and entered into force on 20 May 2024.
Ecocide Law Advisory was instrumental in advising Green Party Members of the European Parliament on the development of the new Directive.
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Independent Expert Panel on the Legal Definition of Ecocide
Kate Mackintosh and Richard J Rogers were deputy Co-Chairs of the Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide, which issued its consensus definition in June 2021. The definition has been formally proposed as an amendment to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court by Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa.
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Brazil
Paolo Busse and Richard J Rogers were instrumental in drafting and advocating for the historic Ecocide Bill introduced to Brazil’s Congress last year.
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Netherlands
In November 2023, departing Member of Parliament Lammert van Raan of the Party for the Animals submitted an Ecocide Criminalization Act to the Dutch House of Representatives and the Council of State. Ecocide Law Advisory provided technical expertise.
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Scotland
Monica Lennon MSP is making history by introducing the Ecocide Prevention Bill to the Scottish Parliament. The Bill aims to tackle major environmental damage, including deforestation, pollution, and habitat destruction, with a particular focus on holding corporations accountable for their actions. Kate Mackintosh is a member of Lennon’s Expert Advisory Group on the proposed Ecocide Prevention Scotland Bill.
Visit ecocidelaw.com for a comprehensive resource hub providing a regularly updated collection of material relating to ecocide law, including an annotated bibliography, definitions, history, existing and proposed laws, and media coverage.
Ecocide means unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts.
Meet the Team
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Richard J. Rogers
Executive Director, Climate Counsel
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Kate Mackintosh
Executive Director, The UCLA School of Law Promise Institute Europe
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Paolo Busse
Criminal, Environmental and Human Rights Lawyer
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Darryl Robinson
Professor, Queen's University Faculty of Law
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Xuchen Zhang
Legal Associate, The UCLA School of Law Promise Institute Europe
