UCLA Journal of International Law and Foreign Affairs

This Article addresses the protection of the natural environment in a non-international armed conflict (NIAC) by applying international humanitarian law (IHL) and international criminal law (ICL) in a transitional justice tribunal.  In December 2016, the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–People’s Army (FARC-EP) guerrilla group signed an agreement which established the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), a tribunal designed to investigate, prosecute, and punish those responsible for the most serious crimes committed during the Colombian Armed Conflict.  The agreement and the regulations of the JEP establish that this tribunal could directly apply IHL and ICL when examining crimes under investigation.  However, case law related to this subject matter is almost nonexistent.  Therefore, the JEP should create case law that can be studied and followed by other international and domestic criminal tribunals, while shedding light on the international standard on environmental protection emanating from IHL and ICL.

In this Article, we demonstrate how the JEP can effectively use IHL and ICL when prosecuting war crimes which have harmful effects on the environment.  For this purpose, Part I presents background on the Colombian Armed Conflict.  Part II describes the JEP, the generalities of its legal framework and the specifics of the use of international law by this tribunal.  Part III examines relevant domestic and international sources to explain the insufficiency of domestic law and the ability of international law to surpass those limitations.  Part IV recalls the sources of ICL and IHL related to the protection of the natural environment in NIACs.  Finally, Part V discusses recent JEP decisions related to the protection of the natural environment and some possible conduct to be investigated in the future.  We conclude by describing the benefits of the JEP’s use of international law.