Abstract

The development of criminology has shifted the struggle for human rights to a ‘green’ hue. As a growing concept, the value of ecocide has yet to be accepted by various countries, both nationally and regionally. The international criminal law system has not formally accommodated the idea of ecocide. This paper aims to strengthen conceptual investigation in legal science, specifically examining the causes of the non-adoption to date of the proposed amendment to the Rome Statute to include a definition of ecocide as the fifth core crime. We employ legal epistemology, drawing on philosophical, synchronic, and diachronic approaches, to demonstrate how a significant phenomenon can become incorporated into legal rules. This paper serves as a vital guide to revealing how the contextualisation of aspects of environmental damage has a considerable influence on indicating the threat of ecocide. The results suggest that national-level sociological, cultural, economic, and political factors significantly influence differences in standards for environmental damage and the vulnerability of groups that experience social casualties. We argue that the amendments’ stalled progress of the Rome Statute is part of a weak understanding of the process of internalising facts and events into international law. For this reason, we strongly recommend support from International Criminal Court (ICC) member countries, including legal experts, in constructing the juridical limits of ecocide indicators that are generally accepted and follow applicable principles of international law.