Criminal Law Commons^™

Prosecuting Members Of The U.S. Military For Wartime Environmental Crimes, Eric Talbot Jensen, James J. Teixeira Jr.

Faculty Scholarship

War is inherently damaging to the environment. Though these deleterious actions are often attributed to "states" during times of armed conflict, they are normally the result of military operations conducted by members of the military who are carrying out orders from military superiors. While many have proposed systemic changes that affect how states can or should be held responsible, few have commented on the process of holding individual military personnel or commanders responsible for battlefield acts of environmental damage. This paper argues that there are sufficient laws and regulations in place to hold individuals and commanders in the United States …