On 11 November 2025, Dr Suwita Hani Randhawa (Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, UWE Bristol) was invited to provide oral evidence to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee of the Scottish Parliament, as part of its ongoing scrutiny of the Ecocide (Scotland) Bill (PDF).
Introduced on 29 May 2025 by Monica Lennon (MSP for Central Scotland), the Bill is aimed at the introduction of a new criminal offence of ecocide under Scots Law. In the Bill, ecocide is defined as causing severe environmental harm in such a way that is either reckless or intentional.
The Bill will allow for people and organisations to be convicted of ecocide. Individuals convicted of ecocide could be jailed for up to twenty years and fined, while organisations convicted of ecocide are liable to receive a fine.
If passed, Scotland would become the first UK nation to criminalize large-scale environmental destruction as a stand-alone offence of “ecocide”. It will also position Scotland at the forefront of growing international efforts to use criminal law to deter mass environmental destruction.
As an expert on the process of criminalisation in global politics, Dr Randhawa offered insights into the interplay between domestic and global efforts to criminalise ecocide.
Her evidence has since been quoted by commentators, such as this piece published by the ENDS Report.
Read the preceedings of the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee’s meeting.