European Union law against environmental crime

KEY POINTS

Types of unlawful¹ behaviour harmful to human health or the environment that are subject to penalties include:

• discharging, emitting or otherwise releasing dangerous materials into the air, soil or water;
• collecting, transporting, recovering or disposing of hazardous waste;
• shipping noticeable quantities of waste;
• operating an industrial plant that conducts dangerous activities or stores dangerous substances (e.g. factories producing paints or chemicals);
• manufacturing, treating, storing, using, transporting, importing, exporting or disposing of nuclear material and hazardous radioactive materials;
• killing, possessing or trafficking in noticeable amounts of protected animal and plant species;
• damaging protected habitats;
• producing, trading in or using substances that deplete the ozone layer (e.g. chemicals in fire extinguishers or cleaning solvents).

Penalties

• Member States must ensure that the offences or types of unlawful behaviour listed in Article 3 of the directive are punishable by effective and proportionate criminal penalties constituting a deterrent and applicable to individuals.
• Member States must establish that legal persons² can be held liable for offences committed for their benefit by individuals acting in a leading position based on a power of representation, on an authority to take decisions on behalf of the legal person or to exercise control within the legal person. Legal persons are also held liable if the lack of supervision or control by such an individual in a leading position has made it possible to commit the offence.
• Liability of legal persons does not exclude criminal proceedings against individuals who are perpetrators, inciters or accessories in the offence referred to in the directive.
• Depending on the legal system applicable in the Member State concerned, the liability of legal persons may be criminal or non-criminal.
• This directive builds upon Directive 2004/35/EC (see summary), which lays down rules on environmental liability as regards preventing and remedying environmental damage.
• Member States are responsible for prosecuting environmental crime. Because legal systems differ among Member States, criminals can exploit any lack of cooperation and coordination between national authorities. Networks of environmental professionals, such as the EU Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law, the EU Forum of Judges for the Environment and the European Network of Prosecutors for the Environment, play an important role in sharing best practices and developing methodologies for effective enforcement.

Review

The directive is currently being revised.