Summary
On November 7, 2023, a draft proposal for an Ecocide Bill to be introduced in Scottish Parliament was submitted by Monica Lennon, MSP. The proposed Ecocide Prevention (Scotland) Bill seeks to deter mass environmental damage and destruction taking place in Scotland, and aims to protect the environment, habitats, and natural resources by introducing the crime of ecocide into Scots Law. The proposal expressly draws from the legal definition of ecocide proposed by the independent expert panel of Stop Ecocide International: “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or longterm damage to the Scottish environment being caused by those acts.”
The draft proposal then entered a public consultation period which ran until February 9, 2024. After the consultation process, the final proposal for Scotland’s domestic Ecocide Bill was submitted on November 12, 2024 with a December 11 deadline to gain the support of at least 18 MSPs from half of the political parties represented in Parliament. If the final proposal secures the required support, the bill can be introduced. At this stage, there is no Bill, only a proposal for the legislation.