THIS IS NOT A TRIAL is a theatrical experiment developed by Utrecht University researchers and students that invites you to become part of the urgent conversation on how we can, as a society, assign accountability for environmental destruction. In a fictional future where ecocide has been incorporated into criminal law, a groundbreaking trial takes place. In the dock: the Dutch multinational Smit Refineries N.V. and its CEO. They stand accused of large-scale devastation of an Indonesian ecosystem where nickel and other rare earth metals are extracted. These resources are vital to the green energy transition – but their extraction comes at a high cost: the destruction of biodiversity hotspots, the extinction of unique species, and the displacement of Indigenous communities.

What would it mean to prosecute ecocide in a court of law? Can the law bring justice to local communities and ecosystems, including birds, trees and other nonhumans? And who should be held accountable in this chain of destruction?