As the interdependency of human well-being and the wider environment becomes ever more clear, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is turning his attention to the role he can play in ensuring accountability for grave environmental harm under the terms of the Court’s statute. The Promise Europe, its students and faculty are partnering with ICC Special Adviser Kevin Jon Heller and the Office of the Prosecutor to support and contribute to the consultation phase of this important process.

In Spring 2024, students worked with Executive Director Mackintosh and legal consultant Xuchen Zhang to analyze responses to a call for public input to the process. Read student Aria Burdon Dasbach’s account of their work on the Legal Planet blog!

Also in the Spring of 2024, The Promise Europe convened an in-person consultation for the Prosecutor, bringing together experts, activists and practitioners from the frontlines of the climate crisis, including Pacific islands, African states and Caribbean nations.

The Office of the Prosecutor released the draft policy in December of 2024, and UCLA Law students are once again working to collate and analyze the next round of responses. In early 2025, The Promise Europe is organizing regional consultations for the Asia-Pacific, Africa and Latin America and Caribbean regions, in partnership with the University of Fiji, the Center for International Law at Singapore University, Addis Ababa University, the University of Mauritius, Universidad Austral de Chile and Unichristus, Brazil.