This thesis examines whether international criminal law is a suitable means to promote global
environmental protection. In essence the work explores whether the current regulatory lacunae
which significantly hamper environmental protection at the international level could be
remedied through the incorporation of a fifth crime of ecocide into the Rome Statute. The paper
argues against the inclusion of a fifth core crime into the Rome Statute due to considerable
impediments to the enforcement of such a crime. These obstacles particularly stem from the
nature of international criminal law and the structure of the International Criminal Court in
The Hague. Instead the establishment of an International Environmental Court is favoured due
to its flexible embedding in the international legal system. An International Environmental
Court is detached from core principles in international criminal law and is thus better suited
to prosecute an international crime against the environment.
