Ecological crimes and environmental criminal law: Reflections on the environmental criminal law in the European Union

Abstract

The Treaty of Lisbon introduces criminal cases as a fundamental element of European judicial construction and enhances the competence of the Union to create common indictments among its member states. The directive 2008/99/CE of the European Parliament and the Union’s Council of 19 November 2008 on environmental protection through criminal law establishes a minimum set of actions that should be considered serious environmental crimes and obliges the member states to provide more deterrent criminal penalties for such offenses, when committed intentionally or with gross negligence. The new European provision, currently in the process of harmonization in the member states, has given rise to a broad debate among scholars and environmental activists. This moment is historical because for the first time the environment is protected by a supranational rule of criminal law. On the basis of some national examples, this article introduces the analysis of the EU Directive in the general framework of the renewed debate on environmental protection in Europe.

Key words: European Union, environment, protection, criminal law.