Rewriting Justice for a Burning Planet: ICC Deputy Prosecutor Khan on the Role of International Criminal Law

“Justice must evolve, or it risks becoming irrelevant. International law cannot stay static when the world is on fire.” 

– ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan

As the International Criminal Court (ICC) Assembly of States Parties begins on Monday, the international community has an important moment to reflect on how international criminal law can evolve to address the urgent challenges of the 21st century. In a world increasingly defined by severe ecological crises, the need for international law to adapt has never been more pressing.

The powerful keynote speech delivered by ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan at the UCLA Law Promise Institute Europe launch conference in May resonates deeply in the current moment, in particular since the formal proposal of Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa to include ecocide in the Rome Statute. Her lecture, "Reimagining International Criminal Law in the Face of Ecological Crises," offered a bold vision for how international law must adapt to a rapidly changing world. As encapsulated in this question she posed to her audience, the Assembly must consider the following challenge: “How would the Rome Statute look if it were drafted today? Would it still prioritize the crimes of the 20th century while ignoring the existential threats of the 21st?” 

The Gaps in the Rome Statute: A Wake-Up Call

Khan’s address highlighted a critical gap in the Rome Statute, which remains grounded in the priorities of the past. While it addresses environmental damage during armed conflict, its scope is limited, leaving large-scale, peacetime ecological destruction unaccounted for. As Khan underscored: “If we cannot hold those who profit from ecological destruction accountable, can we claim that justice has been served?” Her words call into question the statute’s ability to address the full extent of harm caused by states and corporations in today’s world. The focus on individual criminal liability excludes the major global actors responsible for catastrophic environmental harm, from multinational corporations to state actors.

Ecocide and the ICC: A Defining Challenge

At this year’s Assembly, the growing momentum to recognize ecocide as a fifth international crime under the Rome Statute may bring us closer to bridging this gap. Small island nations, often the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, have been advocating for the inclusion of ecocide in international law, signaling a need to address environmental destruction as a matter of justice. 

Khan has called for an ecocentric legal paradigm, one that values the environment for its intrinsic worth rather than solely as a resource for human use, is central to this push. As she emphasized in her speech: “True justice recognizes that the destruction of ecosystems is a crime not only against humanity but against the Earth itself.”

This shift would require moving beyond the anthropocentric framework of international law and embracing a vision where the environment is protected not just because it serves human needs, but because it has value independent of human interests. The ICC Assembly is an opportunity to ensure that international legal frameworks evolve to hold both individuals and powerful global actors—such as corporations and states—accountable for their role in the ecological crisis.

The Moment to Act

As delegates gather in The Hague, Khan’s message remains a powerful call to action. This Assembly is not just another routine gathering but an opportunity to reshape the future of international law in a way that acknowledges the full scale of ecological destruction and the need for urgent legal responses. “Will international law rise to meet the demands of our time, or will it remain tied to a framework that no longer serves the needs of the world?” Khan’s challenge is as relevant today as it was in May, and the answer may very well determine the trajectory of both international law and the planet’s future.

The decisions made in The Hague this week will have far-reaching implications, not only for the field of international law but for the fight to protect the Earth from ecological collapse. The question now is whether this Assembly will take the bold steps necessary to address these unprecedented challenges head-on.