The Court for Intergenerational Climate Crimes (CICC) is a project by Radha D’Souza and Jonas Staal that stages public hearings in immersive installations functioning as a court, to prosecute intergenerational climate crimes committed by states and corporations acting together. These hearings address crimes of the past, present and future, reflecting the intergenerational impacts of climate crimes on ecologies and communities. 

This newly commissioned chapter of the CICC, co-produced by CREAM, consists of a specially appointed court constructed within the former concrete hall of Ambika P3 in London. It was in London that the East India Company was founded in 1600, and where the corporate entity would subsequently shape the city in its own interests and image. The court will interrogate witnesses regarding the crimes committed by the British East India Company, highlighting the interconnectedness of colonial and climate crimes that continue to shape our devastating present and future. 

Non-human agents will act as evidence and witnesses in the court, in this case in the form of plants that played a pivotal role in the colonial and industrial projects of the British Crown and the East India Company. The audience present will have the task to act as public jury members.

Putting the British East India Company on trial, 425 years after its founding and 168 years after its dissolution in 1857, expands notions of intergenerational justice. It raises questions about reparations for crimes that transcend generations and examines how dissolved entities, like the EIC, endure as legal, institutional, and ideological frameworks for extractive capitalism and imperialism, perpetuating ecological collapse. 

Following the public hearings, Ambika P3 will host an installation with selected materials from the tribunals in combination with the CICC School: an ongoing programme of lectures, workshops, screenings and trainings to deepen the relationship between artistic and legal imaginaries in the struggle for climate justice. Please note, hearings and opening programme are free, but booking is required. As audiences act as a public jury for the hearings, attending a hearing commits you to stay for the full session.

To view the full schedule and to book, visit the Serpentine website here.