Criminalization of Ecocide in International Law Inspired by the Quranic Rule of Denying Corruption on Earth

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Ph.D. Student in Islamic Jurisprudence and Private Law, Shahid Motahari Higher Education School and University, Tehran, Iran

2 Assistant Professor and Faculty Member, Imam Sadegh University, Sisters Campus, Tehran, Iran

Abstract
Systematic destruction of the environment has become one of the main threats to global peace and security, but international criminal law faces a vacuum in response to its most severe forms. In response to this vacuum, a new legal discourse has emerged around the criminalization of “Ecocide” as the fifth international crime. The aim of this research is to examine whether the Quranic rule of “denying corruption on earth” has the necessary conceptual and legal capacity to serve as a basis and theoretically strengthen this emerging crime. This research, using a descriptive-analytical method and citing library sources, first explains the pillars of the two concepts in the context of international law and Islamic jurisprudence, and then performs a comparative and inferential analysis between the two. The findings show that there are deep substantive similarities between these two concepts in focusing on the broad outcome, the general nature of the crime, and the threat to security. Furthermore, the principle of “negating corruption on earth” by providing a God-centered philosophical basis, emphasizing responsibility arising from ignorance, and introducing a restorative justice model can significantly complement and strengthen the legal and ethical foundations of the crime of ecocide. Finally, this study concludes that the Islamic legal system has a rich capacity for active and constructive participation in the global discourse of environmental justice.

Keywords



Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 27 September 2026