Environmental crime in Europe. Rules of sanctions

Abstract:

This book arises from contributions made to a conference, staged by the European Commission in Brussels in November 2003, which addressed criminal sanctions for breaches of environmental law. English is the language of most of the papers but some were written in French and these are presented in their original language. Contributions written in Italian and German have been translated into English.

The work commences with the opening speech at the conference given by Margot Wallström, Member of the European Commission in charge of Environment. She records her disappointment with the resources available and the apparent lack of will to enforce environmental law. This is followed by a further eighteen papers which range over many environmental issues. Chapter two presents a general introduction in French. Subsequent chapters go on to cover topics such as the protection of endangered species, ozone-depleting substances, illegal logging and organised environmental crime. There are also country specific chapters including land planning and house construction in Spain, criminal liability and sanctions in Hungary, the application of criminal environmental law in Germany, the need to strengthen the law in Italy, criminal sanctions for environmental offences in the accession countries and administrative criminal law systems in Europe with particular reference to Denmark.

The work will interest scholars, students and activists engaged in European environmental issues.