Ecocide - from the concept of Rafał Lemkin to contemporary international initiatives regarding the environmental crime

• In Event: History of Polish criminological though

Abstract

The alarming size, dynamics and gravity of "green" crimes prove a serious crisis of criminal law in the area of environmental protection. This fact ultimately determined the need to urgently redefine the scope of criminal liability for acts against natural heritage. This problem has been signaled by representatives of green criminology and non-governmental organizations for a long time. The authors of the paper, representing the Polish School of Ecocriminology, wish to present the historical and contemporary achievements of European criminological thought in this field. In particular, they aim to present the profile and scientific heritage of Rafał Lemkin (1900-1954), an outstanding Polish lawyer and diplomat - the creator of the concept of genocide. As is well known, this concept gave rise to the ongoing process of criminalization of crimes against goods of universal dimension. The close to successful completion of works related to the separation of a new category of crime under international criminal law, which is undoubtedly ecocide, confirms that the activities undertaken in the last century - also by criminologists - bring tangible results.

Authors

• Joanna Narodowska, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn

• Wiesław Plywaczewski, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn

• Maciej Andrzej Duda, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn