Towards International Criminalization of Transboundry Environmental Crimes
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Pace University DigitalCommons@Pace Dissertations & Theses School of Law 5-2014 Towards International Criminalization of Transboundry Environmental Crimes Hamdan Qudah Pace University School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/lawdissertations Part of the Criminal Law Commons, Environmental Law Commons, and the International Law Commons Recommended Citation Hamdan Qudah, Towards International Criminalization of Transboundry Environmental Crimes (May 2014) (SJD dissertation, Pace University School of Law), available at http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/ lawdissertations/16/. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Law at DigitalCommons@Pace. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations & Theses by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Pace. For more information, please contact [email protected]. TOWARDS INTERNATIONAL CRIMINALIZATION OF TRANSBOUNDRY ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES By: HAMDAN QUDAH A Thesis Submitted in Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctorate in Judicial Studies At Pace Law School May 2014 Table of Contents Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1 ....................................................................................................................................................... 6 NATURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES AND THE FAILURE OF THE CIVIL LIABILITY SCHEME TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT ...................................................................................... 6 I. Internalization of Pollution ............................................................................................................... 6 II. Polluter Pays Principle and Criminal Liability ................................................................................. 9 III. Corporate Environmental Crimes and Corporate Control........................................................... 10 IV. The International Community and Environmental Crimes ......................................................... 16 V. Criminal Deterrence of Environmental Crimes .............................................................................. 19 VI. International Jurisdiction of Environmental Crimes ................................................................... 22 VII. International Law and International Environmental Crimes ....................................................... 23 VIII. Ecocide as an International Crime .............................................................................................. 25 Chapter 2 ..................................................................................................................................................... 31 DEVELOPMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL ................................................... 31 CRIMINAL LAW ....................................................................................................................................... 31 I. The Transboundary Nature of Environmental Damage .................................................................. 31 II. Protection of the Natural Environment During Warfare ................................................................. 35 III. International Criminal Liability for Crimes Against Nature ....................................................... 40 A. International Conventions ........................................................................................................... 40 B. The 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) ............................................................................................................................................... 45 C. The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes ........ 47 D. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) ................................................... 48 IV. Regional Agreements Establishing Criminal Liability ..................................................................... 49 A. The Council of EU Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law ..... 50 B. The Bamako Convention on the Ban of the Import into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movements and Management of Hazardous Waste ................................................... 50 C. The Convention for the Preservation of Fur Seals in the North Pacific ......................................... 50 D. The Agreement Between Canada and the United States on Great Lakes Water Quality of 1978.. 51 V. Environmental Damage as a Violation of Customary International Law .......................................... 51 Chapter 3 ..................................................................................................................................................... 54 i | NATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION OF PENAL PROVISIONS OF INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONVENTIONS ..................................................................................................... 54 I. Implementing Environmental Laws .................................................................................................... 54 II. Stages of Treaties Implementation into National Law .................................................................... 55 A. Signature and Ratification of the Treaty by the State ................................................................. 56 B. Ratification Process .................................................................................................................... 57 C. Implementation of Treaties in Domestic Penal Legislation ........................................................... 57 D. Implications of Military Alliances .............................................................................................. 61 III. Harmonization in Domestic Penal Legislation ........................................................................... 63 IV. Legal Persons – Criminal Liability for Pollution ........................................................................ 67 V. Transnationalization in Domestic Penal Legislation ....................................................................... 70 Chapter 4 ..................................................................................................................................................... 74 REGIONAL COOPERATION IN CRIMINALIZING ENVIRONMENTALLY HARMFUL ACTIVITIES............................................................................................................................................... 74 I. History of Regionalism ................................................................................................................... 74 III. Variability in the Application of Domestic Law ......................................................................... 79 IV. Environmental Standards in Individual Nations ......................................................................... 80 V. Regional Regimes ........................................................................................................................... 82 A. Asian Regional Partners Forum on Combating Environmental Crime (APREC) ...................... 83 B. The European Union and the Brief History of Criminal Environmental Cooperation in Europe 85 C. North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) ....................................... 87 Chapter 5 ..................................................................................................................................................... 90 INTERNATIONAL NATURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES ......................................................... 90 I. Transboundary Character ................................................................................................................ 90 II. Limitations and Obstacles to the Emergence of International Environmental Crimes ................. 92 III. Arguments for International Environmental Criminal Law ........................................................ 96 IV. Criminalization ........................................................................................................................... 99 A. Nature of the harm ...................................................................................................................... 99 B. Mens Rea .................................................................................................................................. 101 IV. Corporate Liability and Responsible Corporate Officer Liability ............................................ 102 A. Corporate Liability .................................................................................................................... 103 B. Piercing the Corporate Veil ................................................................................................... 104 C. Corporate Officer Liability ....................................................................................................... 106 VI. Internalization ........................................................................................................................... 107 CHAPTER 6 ............................................................................................................................................. 109 ii | ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL COURTE ..............................