Ecocide as an International crime: major natural disasters

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18543/ed.3447
Keywords: Ecocide, environment, natural disasters

Abstract

The major natural disasters that have occurred since World War II have gradually raised awareness among human beings of the need to protect the environment, not only from an anthropocentric point of view, due to the importance of the environment for human survival, but also from an ecocentric point of view, granting autonomy and substance to this legal asset that has been the subject of protection in various fields. However, environmental protection entails significant economic efforts and sacrifices for economic progress, which has hindered the adoption of policies for the prevention and prosecution of environmental damage, as well as its classification, in the most serious cases, as an international crime. These reasons, along with others, have been set out in this paper to explain the non-inclusion of ecocide as an autonomous international crime independent of the rest.

Received: 23.09.2025
Accepted: 16.12.2025

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Author Biography

Beatriz García Sánchez, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid. España

Profesora Titular de Derecho Penal

Published
2025-12-27
How to Cite
García Sánchez, Beatriz. 2025. “Ecocide As an International Crime: Major Natural Disasters”. Estudios De Deusto 73 (2), 171-209. https://doi.org/10.18543/ed.3447.
Issue
Vol. 73 No. 2 (2025)
Section
Special Issue

Last update: 08/02/2022

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