The Role of the Environmental War Crime in the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

Apr 25, 2022 | Elliot Winter
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The Russian invasion of Ukraine has entered its third month. However, in the background, there is another victim of the invasion: the environment. 

As with most crimes, the criteria of the environmental war crime can be split into two categories: (i) those concerned with the conduct itself (actus reus) and (ii) those concerned with the mindset of the accused (mens rea). On both counts, the bar is set high and so the ICC prosecutor—currently the British barrister Karim Khan—would have a tough job proving his case.

Even though neither Russia nor Ukraine are parties to the Rome Statute, the ICC has jurisdiction over events in Ukraine as Ukraine is the locus of the alleged crimes and because the Ukrainian government has previously issued a special declaration accepting the jurisdiction of the ICC. In the context of environmental destruction in times of war, the Rome Statute states that it is a war crime to “intentionally [launch] an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause … widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment” (the “environmental war crime”).

The ICC might have a very difficult time getting hold of any Russians in the first place in the absence of extradition from Russia and, even if it did manage to get someone into the dock, the Court has an uninspiring conviction record with only ten convictions according to the ICC itself.