OTP Policy on Addressing Environmental Damage through the Rome Statute launched

The OTP Policy on Addressing Environmental Damage through the Rome Statute has been launched this Thursday at the Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. 

 
This document is the outcome of an extensive global consultation on how international criminal law can better respond to severe environmental harm (an area where accountability is widely recognised as urgent). 

The consultation invited input on four core questions: 
• which crimes within the ICC’s existing jurisdiction should be addressed in the policy; 
• how modes of liability should apply in cases involving environmental damage; 
• best practices for investigating and prosecuting such crimes; and 
• how to incorporate environmental harm into complementarity and international cooperation. 

We had the privilege of contributing pro bono to this process back in 2024 when a group of UCLA Law students summarised and analysed all submissions received during the consultation phase. 
 

The release of this policy marks an important step forward. It signals that environmental destruction is no longer viewed as peripheral, but as an issue central to global justice and collective security.