A new type of crime may appear in international law: ecocide. Then environmental damage will be on a par with genocide and war crimes. Why are they talking about this now? How does this relate to Agent Orange, the synthetic substance that the US sprayed over South Vietnam? And will it be possible to go to prison for non-environmental behavior?
Spraying Agent Orange in the Mekong Delta (Vietnam), 1969. Photo: wiki.commons
Who invented the word
The word “ecocide” has militaristic origins. The term was introduced by American biologist Arthur Galston. In the 1950s, Galston was part of a team of scientists who developed Agent Orange, a synthetic mixture that causes cancer and genetic mutations. Agent Orange was sprayed by the US Armed Forces throughout South Vietnam. The name "Orange" comes from the orange color of the barrels used to transport this chemical.
When Galston learned about how his invention was being used, he immediately turned into an ardent anti-war activist. At the 1970 Conference on War and National Responsibility, he first called the destruction of the Vietnamese jungle "ecocide."
Forest fires in Spain. Photo: depositphotos
Why ecocide was never recognized as a crime
The term was immediately picked up by anti-war activists in the United States and Europe.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, there was heated debate about the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Several countries supported the inclusion of the concept of “ecocide” in the document. As a result, Article 26 was included in the Code of Crimes against the Peace and Security of Mankind of 1991. It stated that a person who deliberately causes or orders to be caused damage to the environment, if found guilty, must be punished. However, already in 1995 the provision was excluded from the code. Since then, international law has only recognized ecocide as a crime during martial law.
General information about ecocide
This crime is particularly serious in terms of severity, since it causes irreparable damage to the environment, and refers to criminal actions aimed against the peaceful and safe existence of people. Ecocide stands alongside equally dangerous crimes such as genocide, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the use of illegal means of warfare, calls for participation in armed conflicts, and others.
Concept and legal norms
In Art. 358 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation defines the crime of ecocide. It constitutes the commission of the following illegal actions:
- mass destruction of flora and fauna;
- poisoning of atmospheric air and water sources;
- other actions that may lead to environmental disaster.
Object of encroachment
From the definition, three objects of encroachment can be distinguished:
- Tribal – relationships that ensure the safety of human life (the entire natural habitat of all living things).
- Species – relationships that ensure the environmental safety of human life.
- Direct - relationships that ensure the protection of humanity from specific dangers of an environmental nature (specific elements of nature - water, airspace, flora and fauna).
Public danger
The public danger from crime is expressed in damage to the natural living conditions of humans and all life on the planet, a stable basis for the socio-economic development of states, as well as the existing gene pool of nationalities, nations, flora and fauna. However, the definition of the main categories associated with this criminal act must be sought in other legal sources. Without special terminology, it is impossible to fully disclose the composition of ecocide.
- Large-scale destruction of flora and fauna - actions aimed at stopping the vital activity of one species or the entire set of forms of representatives of living beings and plants (complete or partial elimination).
- Poisoning of atmospheric air and water sources - actions to spread toxic and harmful substances (of chemical, biological and radioactive origin) in the atmosphere, as well as in water bodies, resulting in negative consequences for all life on the planet.
- Other activities of human activity may be associated with the production, research, experimental process of people, as a result of which preconditions arise for the onset of an environmental disaster or catastrophe.
- An environmental disaster (catastrophe) is a serious consequence for the environment that entails irreversible and dangerous changes that are significant for all living beings (a breakdown in the ecological balance in nature occurs).
Terms used
- Flora is a collection of plants growing on the territory of one state or a single area, which are interconnected depending on growing conditions.
- Fauna is a collection of species of representatives of the wild animal world that are in a free state, living in a specific area or throughout the entire country.
- Atmospheric air is the air space above the Earth’s surface, which consists of various chemical components (oxygen, nitrogen and others).
- Water resource – water sources located on the surface and underground, forming a water body, which can be used by humans for their own purposes.
Composition of a criminal act and qualification features
The totality of illegal actions included in ecocide form its objective side. It consists of three alternative actions above. Also, one of the components of the objective side is the cause-and-effect relationship, i.e. actions must lead to the onset of consequences determined in the norm - an environmental disaster.
The composition of a criminal act is formal and material. To qualify certain acts as ecocide, certain consequences must occur, which are expressed in:
- the onset of an environmental disaster;
- the cessation of the existence of certain species of flora and fauna;
- changes in the quality and composition of the atmosphere due to saturation with dangerous emissions, etc.
In addition to the occurrence of specific serious consequences for the environment, the crime can also be considered completed from the moment a real danger of the occurrence of the above results appears.
The subjective side is characterized by:
- direct intention (the perpetrator is aware of the danger of his actions and seeks to cause damage to the environment);
- indirect intention (the subject consciously allows harm to be caused to the environment or has an indifferent attitude towards the occurrence of consequences).
The subject of committing criminal acts is a general one; this can be any citizen or group of persons, regardless of their social status or position. Also, the guilty party may be a special subject: an official in the public service, as well as having military status. Age limit is 16 years. The elements of the crime do not have qualified types.
Distinction from adjacent compounds
Environmental
The closest crimes on the subject are environmental compounds, which are placed in a separate section of the Criminal Code. This category is special in relation to ecocide. Such criminal acts include:
- water pollution;
- damage to the earth;
- illegal hunting;
- actions to pollute the atmospheric air and marine environment;
- violation of the special regime established for specially protected objects of flora and fauna.
The content of these elements of atrocities is clearly environmental. Considering the object of environmental crimes, there are two types of criminal acts that encroach on:
- Environmental law and order in general. Object - legal relations related to the environment, combined into a single object of legal regulation.
- The legal order established for the protection and use of individual natural objects.
Special
In addition to purely environmental crimes, the Criminal Code provides for related compounds that perform environmental tasks only under special circumstances. Among these compositions:
- refusal to provide citizens with information;
- actions for illegal registration of transactions with land plots;
- acts of terrorism;
- illegal handling of radioactive materials;
- violation of safety rules when using dangerous and harmful substances, products, etc.
These atrocities acquire environmental meaning only when illegal actions are committed that entail a violation of the order of environmental management and, as a result, cause damage to the environment.
Ecocide is a crime against public health, and how it relates to genocide, read below.
Genocide
One of the most dangerous crimes is genocide, which has a similar object of attack to ecocide - the safe existence of all humanity. However, it has different qualifications on the objective side, which is expressed in criminal actions against humanity (destruction of human groups, causing serious harm to health, creating unacceptable conditions for existence).
Thus, the main distinction occurs based on specific criminal actions that have similar consequences - the destruction of life on Earth, be it a person, be it a representative of the animal or plant world. Read below about what ecocide as an environmental crime entails liability.
What changed
In 2022, the discussion of ecocide again acquired a legislative character. The Hague court has promised several times to pay special attention to crimes that lead to “environmental destruction” and “exploitation of natural resources.” But France switched to the most active measures in November of this year. They proposed to supplement the Civil Climate Convention by making causing significant damage to ecosystems an offense. It will be punishable by a fine of up to 4.5 million euros or imprisonment for a term of three to ten years.
Following France, the International Legal Group became more active. Experts want to formulate a legal definition of ecocide. They plan to complete the work early next year.
Turtle during an oil spill. Photo: depositphotos
Commentary to Art. 358 Labor Code of the Russian Federation
1. This article specifies the responsibilities of state labor inspectors, enshrined in ILO Convention No. 81 “On Labor Inspection in Industry and Commerce” (1947), which indicates the possibility of national legislation to provide for some exceptions for labor inspectors in order to effectively carry out the functions of the inspection service.
2. See Order of Rostrud dated April 10, 2006 N 60 “On approval of the List of officials of the Federal Service for Labor and Employment and its territorial bodies for state supervision and control over compliance with labor legislation and other regulatory legal acts containing labor law norms ( state labor inspectorates in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation) authorized to draw up protocols on administrative offenses" (BNA RF. 2006. N 21).
ecocide in Russia
Surprisingly, in the criminal law of the Russian Federation, ecocide is already considered a crime. It is mentioned in Article 358 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. According to the law, ecocide is considered to be “mass destruction of flora or fauna, poisoning of the atmosphere or water resources, as well as the commission of other actions that can cause an environmental disaster.” Such a crime must be punishable by imprisonment for a term of 12 to 20 years. The concept appeared in the criminal code back in 1997 along with “genocide,” but not a single case of punishment under this article has been registered in its entire history.
Judicial practice under Article 358 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
Cassation ruling of the Judicial Collegium for Criminal Cases of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated October 18, 2018 N 127-UD18-16
By the verdict of the Simferopol District Court of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea dated December 9, 2013, Asanov was acquitted under Part 3 of Art. , part 3 art. 146 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and for the totality of crimes provided for in Part 3 of Art. , clauses 6, 9, 12, 13, part 2, art. 115, part 1 art. , part 3 art. , paragraphs 3, 6, 9, 12, 13, part 2, art. 115, part 1 art. , part 3 art. 146, part 3 art. , part 3 art. , part 2 art. 146, part 3 art. , part 3 art. 146, part 3 art. 146, part 5 art. 185, part 1 art. , part 4 art. 187, part 4 art. 187, part 3 art. , part 4 art. 187, part 3 art. , part 1 art. , part 3 art. 190, part 4 art. 190, part 3 art. , part 4 art. 190, part 3 art. , part 2 art. , part 3 art. 357, part 3 art. , part 3 art. 357, part 3 art. , part 3 art. 357, part 3 art. , part 3 art. 358, part 3 art. , part 1 art. 358, part 3 art. , part 3 art. 358, part 3 art. , part 4 art. 358, part 3 art. , part 4 art. 358 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, sentenced to life imprisonment with confiscation of property, on the basis of Part 2 of Art. The Criminal Code of Ukraine, together with the sentence of August 4, 2005, is to life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
