On January 30, 2026, John Cabot University hosted the event "Ecocide and Environmental Crimes: International Developments and Italy’s Transposition of EU Directive 2024/1203," organized in collaboration with UNICRI, Stop Ecocide International, and the Italian Society for International Organizations (SIOI). The event was attended by academics, EU representatives, and law enforcement authorities, among others.
The discussion centered on criminal responsibility for severe environmental harm at the global level and in the EU space, with a focus on Italy’s transposition of EU Directive 2024/1203, which contains measures aimed at protecting the environment through criminal law. The event contributed to the existing momentum to push for ecocide to be incorporated into the Statute of the International Criminal Court as the fifth international crime alongside genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. New laws on ecocide and environmental crimes are currently being adopted by several countries all over the world.
About the Panels
The event was opened by remarks from Mary Merva (JCU Vice President of Academics and Professor of Economics), Alessandra Liquori (UNICRI Representative), Dani Spizzichino (Stop Ecocide Representative), and Corrado Clini (former Minister of the Environment, Scientific Advisor of SIOI). Jojo Mehta (Co-founder and Executive Director of Stop Ecocide International), delivered a keynote speech. The first panel consisted of: Emanuela Fronza (Associate Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Bologna), Fausto Pocar (Emeritus Professor of International Law, University of Milan and former ICTY/ICJ Judge (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia), and Laura Guercio (Member of the Council of the European Law Institute). The panel discussed international and EU legal frameworks on environmental crime and their implications for Italy.
A second panel on "Ecocide, Organized Crime, and Enforcement Challenges in Italy" included Elisabetta Reyneri (DG Environment and European Commission), Sergio Nazzaro (Coordinator for the Environmental Crime Research Centre and Parliamentary Anti-Mafia and Eco-Mafia Commissions), Marco Letizi (Former Colonel at Guardia di Finanza and International Consultant of the United Nations, European Commission and Council of Europe), and Domenico Aiello (Legal Environmental Protection Supervisor for WWF Italy).
The event concluded with closing remarks by Silvia Scarpa (Professor of International Relations and Chair of the Department of Political Science and International Affairs at JCU).
Regulatory Frameworks to Combat Environmental Crimes
The event acknowledged that environmental crimes such as illegal mining, logging, wildlife trafficking, and waste smuggling are escalating globally, causing irreversible harm to ecosystems and communities, while eroding governance, and the rule of law. These crimes are frequently intertwined with corruption, organized crime, and illicit financial flows, representing one of the fastest-growing criminal economies worldwide. However, the emergence of a movement aimed at creating regulatory frameworks in the fields of ecocide and environmental crimes can promote the prevention and fight against criminal activities that cause environmental damage. Several regulatory challenges already exist, though — as the panelists pointed out — including those determined by the fragmentation of international law, the importance of promoting approaches equally based on individual and corporate criminal responsibility, definitional challenges, as well as questions of jurisdiction when environmental destruction is caused.
The destruction and degradation of unique ecosystems, the loss of biodiversity, and the contamination of soil and water create severe and long-term damage to the environment. It is time to strengthen our legal systems and promote the adoption of effective criminal laws on ecocide and environmental crimes; this event provided participants with an understanding of how to reach this goal.
