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9 Amsterdam L.F. 29 (2017)
The Case of Chevron in Ecuador: The Need for an International Crime against the Environment

handle is hein.journals/amslawf9 and id is 258 raw text is: AMSTERDAM LAW FORUM Scientific THE CASE OF CHEVRON IN ECUADOR: THE NEED FOR AN INTERNATIONAL CRIME AGAINST THE ENVIRONMENT? Audrey Crason * ABSTRACT This article discusses the necessity for the establishment of an international environmental crime. There is a growing feeling of impunity regarding serious environmental damage resulting from corporate activity. As a response, numerous scholars and lawyers advocate for the recognition of an international crime against environment. By analysing the environmental and health consequences of Chevron's oil activity in Ecuador and the subsequent legal battle, this article highlights the imbalances that exist between multinational corporations (MNCs), states, and individuals regarding access to justice and remedies, and shows how the international legal framework could be described as 'corporate-friendly' when it comes to serious environmental damages. It then offers an overview of the opportunities and arguments in favour of a separate international crime. Keywords: Chevron; Environmental Damage; International Criminal Court; International Environmental Crime; Criminal Sanctions; International Repression. Introduction In October 2014, an association of Ecuadorian victims of serious environmental damage - caused in Lago Agrio - by the oil company Chevron lodged a complaint against the CEO and other high-ranking officials of Chevron Corporation for crimes against humanity. The complaint was submitted to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), in order to further investigate and open legal proceedings on the alleged crimes. Such action brought before the ICC against a private person for environmental damage committed on behalf of a multinational company was a first. This original attempt fits within the growing desire to hold corporations and private persons criminally accountable for great and long term damage to the environment, Audrey Crasson holds a Master's Degree in Intemational Crimes and Crimnology from Vr7 Universiteit Amsterdam, as well as a Master's Degree in Civil and Crinu'al Law and a Law Degree from uiversitd Catholique de Louvain. She recently completed a thesis on the prospects for prosecutihg environmental damage at the International Criminal Court

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