Convention on the Protection of the Environment Through Criminal Law (Council Eur.)

This note analyses the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Protection of the Environment Through Criminal Law, adopted in May 2025, which has been open for signature since December 2025. It establishes an international framework that criminalizes environmental harm in peacetime and armed conflict; it introduces twenty distinct offenses, most notably “particularly serious offenses” that address intentional, catastrophic environmental damage as a legal proxy for ecocide. Diverging from traditional pollution-based models, the treaty adopts an ecosystem approach that also protects functional natural processes and services. The twenty environmental crimes are paired with enhanced protections for environmental defenders, NGO participation, and a monitoring mechanism. While closely aligned with EU Directive 2024/1203, the Convention’s “open” nature reflects a universal ambition to harmonize legal standards across legal systems. This note briefly evaluates the Convention’s drafting history, its innovative legal architecture, and its potential to establish a global “common legal space” against environmental destruction.