Instruments, Actors and Institutions in the Fight Against Environmental Crime

148 Pages·2015·1.28 MB·English

by  Beata Vargova

Instruments, Actors and Institutions in
the Fight Against Environmental Crime

Deliverable No. D2.5

This project has received funding from the
European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme
for research, technological development and

demonstration under grant agreement no 320276.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The research leading to these results has been carried out as part of the research project
"European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime" (www.efface.eu). EFFACE is a collaborative

effort of 11 European universities and think tanks and is coordinated by the Ecologic Institute
(www.ecologic.eu). The research leading to these results has received funding from the European
Union FP7 under grant agreement No 320276.

AUTHORS
Prof. Michael Faure, University of Maastricht METRO (Chapter 3 and Section 4.3)
Christiane Gerstetter, Ecologic Institute (Sections 2.2 and 4.2)

Dr. Stephan Sina, Ecologic Institute (Sections 2.2 and 4.2)
Dr. Grazia Maria Vagliasindi, University of Catania (Chapter 1 and Sections 2.1 and 4.1)

With contributions by:
Dr. Floriana Bianco, University of Catania (in Chapter 1 and Sections 2.1 and 4.1)
Katharina Klaas, Ecologic Institute (in Sections 2.2 and 4.2)

Dr. Annalisa Lucifora, University of Catania (in Chapter 1 and Sections 2.1 and 4.1)

DMra nuscript completed in January, 2015

This document should be cited as: Faure, M., Gerstetter, C., Sina, S., Vagliasindi, G.M. (2015).
IAncsttorursm aenndts ,I n stitutions in the Fight Against Environmental Crime. Study in the framework of the
EreFsFeAaCrcEh project, Berlin: Ecologic Institute. Available at www.efface.eu.

DISCLAIMER
The text reflects only the authors’ views and the EU or the Ecologic Institute are not liable for any
use that may be made of the information contained therein. The views expressed in this
publication are the sole responsibility of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views of
the European Commission.
For permission to reproduce, please contact the Ecologic Institute at [email protected].

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ABSTRACT

This report aggregates the main outcomes of research conducted on instruments, actors and
institution of relevance to the fight against environmental crime at the national, European and
international level by individual researchers from various institutions.
The report reflects the multilevel approach of the research (international, European and national
level) as well as its articulated content, which covers, at each level, e.g. legal instruments as well as
actors and institutions, truly criminal as well as administrative offences (and related enforcement
authorities), individual liability as well as corporate liability etc.
This results in a ‘vertical’ and ‘horizontal’ aggregation.
The ‘vertical’ aggregation describes the main features of those instruments which, at different levels
(e.g. international and European), appear to be more relevant in tackling the most serious forms of
environmental crime (e.g. illegal shipment of waste), as well as the role played by actors and
institutions at the enforcement level. It also tries to the extent possible to individuate relevant
multilevel normative and enforcement issues (such as organised environmental crime) and to
highlight to the extent possible strengths and weaknesses of the regulatory framework as well as
of the enforcement mechanisms (e.g. lack of cooperation between enforcement authorities at
different levels and, on the contrary, effectiveness of environmental enforcement networks).
The ‘horizontal’ aggregation represents the core part of this report. It describes the main
characteristics of the selected national legal systems on environmental crime and it provides a
comparison among them (e.g. concerning the structure of the criminal offences, the levels of
sanctions for the same criminal conduct or the role of administrative offences and related
enforcement authorities in assuring the effectiveness of environmental protection). The report also
highlights to the extent possible strengths and weaknesses of the different regulatory and
enforcement systems on environmental crime.
On these grounds, this report formulates conclusions on the existing regulatory and enforcement
settings and tries to provide a baseline for the formulation of policy recommendations to the EU
legislator in order to enhance the regulatory and enforcement tools to fighting environmental
crime.

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Table of Contents
1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................................ 11
2 Instruments, actors and institutions at different levels ................................................................................. 18
2.1 Instruments 18
2.1.1 Analysis of instruments of direct or indirect relevance in the fight against
environmental crime at different levels 18
2.1.2 Instruments of direct relevance in the fight against environmental crime 29
2.1.3 Instruments on organised crime in the perspective of fighting environmental crime35
2.1.4 Strenghts and shortcomings 44
2.2 Actors and institutions involved in combating environmental crime 47
2.2.1 Overview of actors and institutions 47
2.2.2 Tasks and activities of actors and institutions concerning environmental crime 48
2.2.3 Cooperation between actors and institutions in the area of environmental crime 54
2.2.4 Strengths and shortcomings 60
3 Instruments, Actors and Institutions at national level ................................................................................... 66
3.1 Introduction 66
3.2 Instruments: place and structure 68
3.2.1 Importance of the issue 68
3.2.2 Countries 69
3.2.3 Results 71
3.3 Instruments: how does criminal law protect the environment? 71
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3.3.1 Ways of protecting the environment through criminal law 71
3.3.2 Abstract endangerment 74
3.3.3 Concrete endangerment 76
3.3.4 Autonomous crime 78
3.4 Instruments: sanctions 80
3.4.1 Main sanctions 80
3.4.2 Complementary sanctions 83
3.5 Instruments: the Environmental Crime Directive and the Ship-source Pollution Directive 86
3.6 Actors: corporate crime 88
3.6.1 Importance 88
3.6.2 Countries 89
3.6.3 Results 94
3.7 Actors: organised crime 95
3.7.1 Importance 95
3.7.2 Countries 95
3.7.3 Result 96
3.8 Actors: Amtsträgerstrafbarkeit 97
3.8.1 Importance 97
3.8.2 Countries 98
3.8.3 Results 99
3.9 Institutions: who investigates? 100
3.9.1 Importance 100
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3.9.2 Countries 101
3.9.3 Results 103
3.10 Institutions: the public prosecutor 104
3.10.1 Importance 104
3.10.2 Countries 106
3.10.3 Results 109
3.11 Institutions: the courts 111
3.11.1 Importance 111
3.11.2 Countries 111
3.11.3 Result 112
3.12 Institutions: administrative authorities 112
3.12.1 Importance 112
3.12.2 Countries 113
3.12.3 Result 115
3.13 Institutions: administrative fines 116
3.13.1 Importance 116
3.13.2 Countries 117
3.13.3 Results 118
3.14 Enforcement practice 119
3.14.1 Lacking data 119
3.14.2 Enforcement deficit? 120
3.14.3 Sanctions 121
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3.14.4 Effectiveness? 122
3.15 Evaluation 124
3.15.1 Regulatory level 124
3.15.2 Enforcement level 125
3.15.3 Results 126
3.15.4 Towards smart enforcement 126
4 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................................................... 129
4.1 Instruments at EU and international levels 129
4.2 Actors and institutions at EU and international levels 133
4.3 Instruments, actors and institutions at national level 135
4.3.1 Instruments 135
4.3.2 Actors 136
4.3.3 Institutions 136
4.3.4 Convergence or divergence? 138
4.3.5 The way forward 139
5 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................................................... 141
Annex I - List of EFFACE Reports .................................................................................................................................... 146

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List of Tables
Table 1: Overview of the main actors and institutions analysed in the reports
Table 2: Place of environmental criminal law
Table 3: Corporate liability for environmental crime

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

BVerfGE Entscheidungen des Bundesverfassungsgerichts
CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Wild Species of Flora and Fauna
CJEU Court of Justice of the European Union
COP Conference of the Parties
COSI Standing Committee on Operational Cooperation on Internal Security
CPS Crown Prosecution Service (UK)
DG Directorate General
7EAP Seventh Environment Action Programme
EC European Community
ECHR European Convention on Human Rights
ECOSOC Economic and Social Council
ECtHR European Court of Human Rights
ENPE European Network of Prosecutors of the Environment
EnviCrimeNet European Network for Environmental Crime
EPPO European Public Prosecutor’s Office
ETS European Treaty Series
EU European Union
EUFJE European Union Forum of Judges for the Environment
EUROJUST European Union's Judicial Cooperation Unit
EUROPOL European Union’s law enforcement agency
ICCWC International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime
IFAW International Fund for Animal Welfare
IMPEL European Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law
INECE International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement
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INTERPOL International Criminal Police Organisation
ISF Internal Security Fund
JHA Justice and Home Affairs
LEAF Law Enforcement Assistance for Forests
MARPOL International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships
MEAs Multilateral Environmental Agreements
NWCU National Wildlife Crime Unit (UK)
OCGs Organised Crime Groups
OCTA Organised Crime Threat Assessment
ONG Non-governmental organisation
OJ Official Journal
PEBA Planning and Environmental Bar Association (UK)
REMA National Environmental Crimes Unit (Sweden)
SEPA Scottish Environment Protection Agency
SEPRONA Nature Protection Service (Spain)
SOCTA Serious Organised Crime Threat Assessment
StGB Strafgesetzbuch (Criminal Code)
TEC Treaty establishing the European Community
TFEU Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
UN United Nations
UNECE United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNICRI United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute
UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Corruption
WCO World Customs Organisation

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