The criminalisation of ecocide as an international crime has been a perennial issue, and some misgivings have been expressed over the idea. It has been contended that criminalising ecocide is antithetical to economic development and that the destruction of the ecosystem is not amenable to the scrutiny of the criminal justice system. In examining the viability of this argument, the article adopts a historical approach. It finds that ecocide is indeed one of the legacies of Nuremberg but was suppressed by powerful state interests. A lot of groundwork has already been laid which make the criminalisation of ecocide feasible. The study argues that ecocide can be punished as genocide, war crime, crime against humanity, aggression, or a distinct crime.
