Ecocide: Harm, Responsibility & Lived Realities
This interdisciplinary event brings together legal and anthropological perspectives to critically examine the emerging crime of ecocide and the broader challenges of addressing large-scale environmental harm.
Speakers will offer their insights into the legal complexities of defining and prosecuting ecocide—particularly around the question of mental culpability and the role of concepts such as intent, recklessness, and “wantonness”. Alternatives to existing legal frameworks will be explored, including proposals for a socially grounded necessity defence to improve clarity and enforceability.
The discussion will also turn to the lived realities of environmental degradation, with a focus on palm oil cultivation in Indonesia. Drawing on ethnographic research, we will examine how economic development has come at a high environmental and social cost, raising questions about land rights, governance, and justice for affected communities.
Finally, we will address the difficult question of corporate accountability in cases of ecocide. How should corporations be sentenced if convicted of environmental crimes? What would effective retribution and restoration look like, especially from the perspective of victims and communities?
The event will consist of input from all speakers, followed by an open Q&A session to engage with the audience and deepen the discussion.
24 June 2025 I 18:00 (CEST)
Venue:
Seminar Room, Chair for US-American Law, University of Cologne
Aachener Straße 201, 50931 Köln and Online via Zoom.
Zoom Details can be found here.
Organized by Environmental Law Center University of Cologne, Cologne Environmental Society (CES e.V.) and Global South Studies Center (GSSC).
Anmeldung zur 8. Promovierendenkonferenz Umwelt und Recht eröffnet
Die Anmeldung zur 8. Promovierendenkonferenz Umwelt und Recht, welche am 26. und 27. Juni 2025 in Köln stattfinden wird, ist ab jetzt und bis zum 13.06.2025 unter https://elc.uni-koeln.de/events/prokur-25#c86299 möglich. Abstracts können bis zum 16.05.2025 eingereicht werden.
Rights of Nature online dossier - Heinrich Boell Foundation
The Rights of Nature online dossier has been (re)launched, now on the webpages of Heinrich Boell Foundation.
“From Ecuador to the UK: Ecosystems, rivers, or mountains could become legal subjects – with rights that effectively safeguard their needs.”
Getting Beyond the Proposal: The European Union Restoration Regulation
A Brief Historical Context for European Restoration Regulation
(by Emma Shensher and Prof. Dr. Kirk W. Junker, Notice Board, National Law School of India University, Bengaluru)
People Places Planet Podcast
Feel free to check out the Environmental Law Institute’s People Places Planet Podcast. Here, listeners can gain insight on some of the thinking behind ELI's work. You will find their most recent episodes here: https://www.eli.org/podcasts