Addressing the Intentional Destruction of the Environment during Warfare under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

Acts perpetrated during the course of warfare have, through the ages, led to significant environmental destruction. These have included situations where the natural environment has intentionally been targeted as a 'victim', or has somehow been manipulated to serve as a 'weapon' of warfare. Until recently, such acts were generally regarded as an unfortunate but unavoidable element of armed conflict, despite their potentially disastrous impacts. The existing international rules have largely been ineffective and inappropriate, and have in practical terms done little to deter deliberate environmental destruction, particularly when measured against perceived military advantages. However, as the significance of the environment has come to be more widely understood and recognised, this is no longer acceptable, particularly given the ongoing development of weapons capable of widespread and significant damage. This book therefore examines the current international legal regime relevant to the intentional destruction of the environment during warfare, and argues that such acts should, in appropriate circumstances, be recognised as an international crime and should be subject to more effective rules giving rise to international criminal responsibility. It also suggests a framework within the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as to how this might be achieved.

Steven Freeland is Emeritus Professor of International Law at Western Sydney University, where he was previously Dean of the School of Law, and Professorial Fellow at Bond University. He also holds Visiting or Adjunct positions at various other Universities/Institutes in Copenhagen, Vienna, Toulouse, Hong Kong, Montreal, Kuala Lumpur and London. Prior to becoming an academic, he had a 20-year career as an international commercial lawyer and an investment banker. He is a Member of the Advisory Group of the Australian Space Agency and has been an advisor to the Australian, New Zealand, Norwegian and several other Governments on issues relating to national space legislative frameworks and policy. He has represented the Australian Government at the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS) and has also been appointed by UNCOPUOS to co-chair multilateral discussions on the exploration, exploitation and utilisation of space resources. He has also been a Visiting Professional within the Appeals Chamber at the International Criminal Court, and a Special Advisor to the Danish Foreign Ministry in matters related to the International Criminal Court. He is a Co-Principal of specialised space law firm Azimuth Advisory and also a Director of the International Institute of Space Law, and a Member of the Space Law Committee of the International Law Association and of the Space Law and War Crimes Committees of the International Bar Association. In addition to co-Editing the Annotated Leading Cases of International Criminal Tribunals book series, he also sits on the Editorial Board / Advisory Board of a number of internationally recognised academic journals