Alternative and Supplementary Criminal Law Measures to the Provided Punishment Which Restore the Destroyed / Threatened Environment as a Specific Standard of EU Directive 2024/1203
Abstract
Environmental protection has become a global challenge, as human activities increasingly threaten ecosystems, threaten biodiversity and significantly negatively impact public health. While regulatory frameworks and law enforcement mechanisms in the civil sector play an essential role in environmental protection, criminal law provides a powerful instrument for deterring law violations, criminal liability of perpetrators and obligations to restore what has been destroyed. Complementarity between criminal and administrative law is essential for preventing and deterring illegal behaviour that harms the environment, but administrative penalties are insufficient. Environmental protection is one of the fundamental objectives of the European Union, as set out in Article 191 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. In the light of the increasing frequency and complexity of environmental crimes, Directive (EU) 2024/1203 was adopted in response to the insufficient effectiveness of the previous instruments (2008/99/EC and 2009/123/EC). One of the aspects that indicated the need for the adoption of the 2024 Directive was the fact that the sanctions under Directive No. 88 of 2008 were insufficient to achieve compliance with EU law on environmental protection through the availability of effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal sanctions. The 2024 Directive introduces new standards in the definition of criminal offences, sanctions and measures for the restoration and prevention of environmental damage. Namely, penalties should be made more severe in order to enhance their deterrent effect, and to improve the efficiency of detection, investigation, prosecution and adjudication of environmental crimes. Alternative and supplementary measures have a strong preventive function as they reduce the risk of recidivism, encourage environmental responsibility and raise awareness of the consequences of environmental crime. The scale, prevalence and high level of corruption have led some authors to classify this form of crime as a serious “white-collar crime”. Corruption exists since various forms of bribery and influence peddling are involved in high-ranking public officials, politicians and members of law enforcement agencies, but the existence and impact of corruption in the private sector, which, according to GRECO, is of great concern, should not be overlooked. Criminal law should serve as a means of deterring environmental crimes by imposing strict criminal sanctions and measures on those who engage in illegal activities that endanger the environment, as opposed to fines in administrative or civil proceedings.
References
de Lucia, V. (2017). Beyond anthropocentrism and ecocentrism: a biopolitical reading of environmental law. Journal of Human Rights and the Environment, 8(2), 181–202.
De Rechstpraak, Teler mag 4 bestrijdingsmiddelen blijven gebruiken – motivering, Јuly 18, 2023. Доступно на: https://www.rechtspraak.nl/organisatie-en-contact/organisatie/gerechtshoven/gerechtshof-arnhem-leeuwarden/nieuws/teler-mag-vier-bestrijdingsmiddelen-blijven-gebruiken---motivering.
European Commission, Commission Working Document, Evaluation of the Directive 2008/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on the protection of the environment through criminal law (‘Environmental Crime Directive’), Brussels, 28 October, 2020. Доступно на: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52020SC0260.
European Union, The EU extends the list of environmentally unfriendly behaviour that can be punished under criminal law, 7 October, 2024. Доступно на: https://www.garrigues.com/en_GB/new/eu-extends-list-environmentally-unfriendly-behaviour-can-be-punished-under-criminal-law.
Europol, Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA) report, 2021.
Halsey, М., White, R. (1998). Crime, Ecophilosophy and Environmental Harm. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 2(3).
Illuminem, Climate victims file criminal case against bosses of oil firm Total, May 22, 2024. Доступно на: https://illuminem.com/illuminemvoices/climate-victims-file-criminal-case-against-bosses-of-oil-firm-total.
Killean, R., Newton E. (2025). From ecocide to ecocentrism: Conceptualising environmental victimhood at the International Criminal Court. International Review of Victimology, 31(2), 238–264. Доступно на: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/02697580241269426.
Lucas, C. (2001). The Baia Mare and Baia Borsa Accidents: Cases of Severe Transboundary Water Pollution. Environmental Policy and Law, 31(2), 106-111.
Mpunga-Biayi, P. (2025). The European Union Environmental Crime Directive 2024: The construction of an autonomous legal framework for the repression of environmental crimes within the European Union. Environmental Law Review, 27(2), 135–144.
Mrčela, М. (2023). Anti-Corruption Day: Governments must fight environmental corruption. Доступно на: https://www.coe.int/en/web/greco/-/anti-corruption-day-governments-must-fight-environmental-corruption.
Olsen Lundh, C. (2024). The Revised EU Environmental Crime Directive Changes and Challenges in EU Environmental Criminal Law with Examples from Sweden. EUCRIM, 19(2), 164–172. Доступно на: https://eucrim.eu/articles/the-revised-eu-environmental-crime-directive/.
PAN Europe, Dutch judge bans spraying of pesticides on lily fields, June 19, 2023. Доступно на: https://www.pan-europe.info/blog/dutch-judge-bans-spraying-pesticides-lily-fields#:~:text=Clear%20understanding%20of%20EU%20pesticide,by%20EU%20and%20national%20laws.
PAN Europe, Groundbreaking EU Court ruling should stop all highly toxic pesticide derogations – now, 31 January, 2023. Доступно на: https://www.pan-europe.info/blog/groundbreaking-eu-court-ruling-should-stop-all-highly-toxic-pesticide-derogations-%E2%80%93-now.
Pereira, R. (2024). A critical evaluation of the new EU Environmental Crime Directive 2024/1203. EUCRIM. 2/2024, 158–163. Доступно на: https://eucrim.eu/articles/critical-evaluation-of-the-new-eu-environmental-crime-directive/.
Simmons, G., Vardy, M., Stevenson, R. (2021). Ecophilosophies Within Green Criminology, у: Simmons, G. (2021). Introduction to Criminology. Kwantlen Polytechnic University Pressbooks.
Steinzor, R. (2016). How Criminal Law Can Help Save the Environment. Faculty Scholarship. Доступно на: https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/fac_pubs/1563.
Transformative Legal Experts, Protection of the environment through criminal law Directive (EU) 2024/1203 of 11 April, Доступно на: https://www.plmj.com/xms/files/07_Guias_e_Manuais/2024/Environmental_Crime_Directive.pdf.
Villari, A., Maestri, E. (2024). New EU Directive on the protection of the environment increases offenses under criminal law. Доступно на: https://www.dlapiper.com/en/insights/publications/derisk-newsletter/2024/new-eu-directive-on-the-protection-of-the-environment-increases-offenses-under-criminal-law.
Westra, L. (2012). Environmental Justice and the Rights of Unborn and Future Generations. Routledge.
WWF, Member States against strong EU rules to penalize environmental crimes, 9 December, 2022. Доступно на: https://www.wwf.eu/?8400366/Member-States-against-strong-EU-rules-to-penalise-environmental-crimes.
Дреновак-Ивановић, М., Ђорђевић, С., Важић, С. (2015). Правни инструменти еколошке заштите – грађанскоправна и кривичноправна заштита. ОЕБС, Београд.
Кotzé, L. J. (2016). Global Environmental Constitutionalism in the Anthropocene. Hart Publishing.
Камбовски, В. (2015). Коментар на Кривичниот законик на Република Македонија, Второ изменето издание. Скопје: Матица.
Лажетић, Г., Мујоска Трпевска, Е. (2024). Екологија и казненоправни инструменти заштите - норма и пракса Републике Северне Македоније. Гласник Адвокатске коморе Војводине, 96(1), 5-58.
Правни извори
European Union: Council of the European Union, Directive (EU) 2024/1203 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on the protection of the environment through criminal law and replacing Directives 2008/99/EC and 2009/123/EC, PE/82/2023/REV/1 OJ L, 2024/1203, 30 April 2024.
European Union: European Parliament and Council of the European Union, Directive 2008/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on the protection of the environment through criminal law, OJ L 328, 6 December, 2008.
European Union: European Parliament and Council of the European Union, Directive 2009/123/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 amending Directive 2005/35/EC on ship-source pollution and on the introduction of penalties for infringements, OJ L 280, 27 October, 2009.
Ganado Advocates, Directive 2024/1203: Introducing Harsher Penalties for Unregulated Ship Recycling Practices, 8 October, 2024. Доступно на: https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=60f63f34-8118-4637-ba21-b79f88db816d.
Member States of the European Union, Consolidated versions of the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, OJ C 202, June 7, 2016. Доступно на: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:C:2016:202:TOC.
Закон за измени и дополнување на Кривичниот законик, Службен весник на РСМ, бр. 188/2023 од 07.09.2023.
Закон о животној средини, Службен весник на РСМ, бр. 53/05, 81/05, 24/07, 159/08, 83/09, 48/10, 124/10, 51/11, 123/12, 93/13, 187/13, 42/14, 44/15, 129/15, 192/15, 39/16, 99/18, 89/22, 171/22, 3/25 и 124/25.
Закон о инспекциским надзором животне средине, Службен весник на РСМ, бр. 99/2022.
Судска пракса
Case C-176/03, European Court of Justice, Commission of the European Communities v Council of the European Union, [2005], I-7879.
Case C-440/05, European Court of Justice, Commission of the European Communities v Council of the European Union, [2007] I-0909.
Пресуда, Основен суд Неготино, К.бр.120/17, 25.06.2018.
Autori koji objavljuju u ovom časopisu pristaju na sledeće uslove:
- Autori zadržavaju autorska prava i pružaju časopisu pravo prvog objavljivanja rada i licenciraju ga "Creative Commons Attribution licencom" koja omogućava drugima da dele rad, uz uslov navođenja autorstva i izvornog objavljivanja u ovom časopisu.
- Autori mogu izraditi zasebne, ugovorne aranžmane za neekskluzivnu distribuciju članka objavljenog u časopisu (npr. postavljanje u institucionalni repozitorijum ili objavljivanje u knjizi), uz navođenje da je članak izvorno objavljen u ovom časopisu.
- Autorima je dozvoljeno da postave objavljeni članak onlajn (npr. u institucionalni repozitorijum ili na svoju internet stranicu) pre ili tokom postupka prijave rukopisa, s obzirom da takav postupak može voditi produktivnoj razmeni ideja i ranijoj i većoj citiranosti objavljenog članka.