KRIVIČNE I DRUGE SANKCIJE I MERE PREMA DIREKTIVI EU (2024/1203) O KRIVIČNOPRAVNOJ ZAŠTITI ŽIVOTNE SREDINE
Criminal and Other Sanctions and Measures Under EU Directive (2024/1203) on the Protection of the Environment Through Criminal Law

Summary/Abstract: The insufficiently precise normative framework established by the 2008 Directive on environmental crime (2008/99/ EC), as well as the unsatisfactory and extremely modest effects of its application, prompted a proposal to improve the European Union regulatory framework in the field of environmental protection. This resulted in the adoption of the new Directive 2024/1203 in the field of the protection of the environment through criminal law. The Directive also introduces an entire range of new solutions aimed at more successful cross-border cooperation, as well as coordination and cooperation among competent authorities within a Member State. However, the truly revolutionary change lies in the way in which the Directive defines the relationship between criminal law and administrative law. For all criminal offenses provided for by the new Directive, the conduct in question must constitute an unlawful act. Under the new definition, however, conduct is considered unlawful not only where it breaches a specific rule of Union law, but even where it is carried out on the basis of a decision of the competent authority of a Member State, if that authorization was obtained fraudulently or by corruption, extortion, or coercion, or if the authorization is in manifest breach of relevant substantive legal requirements. The question remains open as to how Member States will incorporate this concept into their national legislation, since, regardless of its potential criminal-policy effect, it poses a serious threat to the principle of legality, which requires the conditions for criminal liability to be determined precisely and clearly. Moreover, it appears that the “iron rule,” according to which criminal law must not sanction what another branch of law expressly permits, no longer has any value.

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