SOAS Environmental Law Clinic calls on the ICC to recognise the environment as a legal victim
The SOAS Environmental Law Clinic has submitted a formal response to the Draft Policy on Environmental Crimes, urging the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) at the International Criminal Court (ICC) to adopt a transformative approach to reparations by recognising the environment as a direct victim of international crimes.
Currently, the ICC's reparations framework is limited to human victims, despite Article 8(2)(b)(iv) of the Rome Statute recognising intentional environmental destruction as a war crime. The SOAS submission argues that to meaningfully address such crimes, the ICC must expand its legal understanding of “victim” to include ecosystems and the environment.
In its response dated 16 March 2025, the SOAS Environmental Law Clinic (SOAS Clinic) cited global precedents such as the legal personhood of the Whanganui River in New Zealand and rivers in India and Bangladesh and recommended amendments to the ICC’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence (Rules 85 and 89) to allow legal guardians to represent the environment in court.
This proposal aligns with the Rights of Nature movement and principles of environmental restorative justice, which are gaining recognition in multiple jurisdictions. The SOAS Clinic proposes a shift towards transformative reparations, that combine ecological restoration with community-focused measures.
These reparations should go beyond monetary compensation to include land rehabilitation, clean water access, and sustainable development—particularly for Indigenous communities whose cultural and spiritual identities are intrinsically tied to nature. The submission draws on national models such as Peru’s Mechanisms for Remuneration for Ecosystem Services (MERESE) and collective reparations programmes in Colombia and the Niger Delta.
These examples illustrate how environmental reparations can support both ecosystems and affected populations, especially when designed with community input and Indigenous leadership. In addition, the SOAS Clinic calls for stronger corporate accountability mechanisms. It urges the ICC to enforce the "polluter pays" principle and hold corporations liable for ecological harm, while also establishing independent oversight bodies to counter industrial lobbying and ensure climate finance obligations are met through binding legal instruments.
To support these reforms, the SOAS Clinic recommends the establishment of an UN-led international environmental reparations fund, backed by legally enforceable contributions from states and private actors. This fund would institutionalise climate justice and offer practical avenues for redress to both people and the planet.
This pioneering submission from the SOAS Clinic advocates for a future where the ICC not only prosecutes crimes against the environment but ensures justice for all forms of life impacted by ecological destruction.
Download the SOAS consultation response on environmental and collective reparations to the OTP at the ICC'
