The protection of the environment is currently of the uppermost importance and all legal fields have to contribute to this goal. This includes criminal law, both on a national and an international level. The debate in international criminal law focusses on a proposal to introduce a new core crime of “ecocide” to the Rome Statute. Much has been contributed to this debate, and often the ultima ratio approach has been mentioned in this context. However, the contents of this principle remain vague. In my article, I assess the ultima ratio principle for international criminal law and apply it to the discussion about the introduction of a new core crime of ecocide to the Rome Statute. My assessment reveals that under the current circumstances, this cannot be considered a good fit. Rather, alternatives exist that are to be expected to serve the urgent interest of protecting the natural environment better.

中文翻译：

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生态灭绝成为《罗马规约》新的核心犯罪？国际刑法中法律政策的终极比率视角

当前，保护环境是最重要的，所有法律领域都必须为这一目标做出贡献。这包括国家和国际层面的刑法。国际刑法争论的焦点是在《罗马规约》中引入新的核心犯罪“生态灭绝”的提案。这场辩论已经做出了很多贡献，并且在这方面经常提到了最后通牒比率方法。然而，这一原则的内容仍然模糊。在我的文章中，我评估了国际刑法的最后通牒原则，并将其应用于有关在《罗马规约》中引入新的核心生态灭绝罪的讨论。我的评估表明，在目前的情况下，这并不是一个很好的选择。相反，存在替代方案，有望满足更好地保护自然环境的迫切利益。