By Regina Weiss (Derwent & Tamar Chambers)
Summary: 'Ecocide' refers to the destruction of the environment by humans, which is thought to have found its origins in the description of the use of Agent Orange in the Vietnam War. Fast forward more than half a century and the Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide has proposed the legal definition for 'Ecocide' to be the "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". Global discussions are underway for the crime of Ecocide to become a crime for which individuals can be held criminally responsible before the ICC, with recent support from the European Union and other States to do so. Regina discusses in an open forum at IMAS topics including jurisdiction of the crime of ecocide before the ICC, the proposed definition, where it should sit in the ICC's governing treaty - the Rome Statute, procedural/evidentiary considerations and the obligations of Member States including Australia if it were included in the Rome Statute.
Bio: Regina Weiss is a Tasmanian barrister who previously served as prosecution trial lawyer at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for nine years on cases emanating predominantly from east Africa before returning to Tasmania in 2021. Since her call to the Bar, Regina was listed on the exclusive ICC List of Counsel for Victims and Defence and is the ICC Bar Association (ICCBA) Focal Point on sexual and gender-based violence. Regina was recently appointed as Chair of the ICCBA Working Group on Ecocide, which was formed to consider key issues and provide advice in the international arena on the proposed inclusion of the crime of Ecocide in the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court, the Rome Statute.
