News     10.12.2025

Protection of the environment through criminal law

Environmental crime has become one of the fastest-growing and most profitable types of international crime. Illegal waste shipments, unlawful trade in wildlife, serious breaches of environmental rules, and illegal wood harvesting not only damage ecosystems but also put public health, honest businesses, and the rule of law at risk. To respond to these problems, the European Union adopted Directive (EU) 2024/1203 on the protection of the environment through criminal law (Directive). This is the biggest reform of EU environmental criminal law so far and replaces Directives 2008/99/EC and 2009/123/EC. The Directive introduces a broader and more harmonised system of criminal sanctions across the EU. It supports the EU’s goal to improve environmental protection and to ensure that serious violations of environmental law receive effective and dissuasive penalties. For companies, the Directive is especially important because it expands the situations in which legal persons may be held criminally liable and sets minimum sanction levels that will influence corporate risk management and compliance systems. The Directive also contains an expanded list of environmental offences. Criminal liability now covers, for example, illegal wood harvesting, large-scale illegal waste shipments, serious violations of EU chemicals legislation, and pollution caused by discharges from ships. It also includes offences linked to current environmental challenges, such as causing significant damage to ecosystems or protected habitats through negligent or intentional actions. By widening the list of punishable activities, the EU wants to close enforcement gaps and ensure that serious environmental harm is prosecuted more consistently in all Member States. A key element of the Directive is its clearer and stricter system of sanctions. Member States must introduce effective, proportionate, and dissuasive criminal penalties for both individuals and legal persons. For individuals, the Directive requires higher maximum prison sentences. The most serious offences, such as those that result in death, must be punishable with a maximum sentence of at least ten years. Offences that cause extensive, long-term, or irreversible environmental damage must also receive higher maximum sentences. Other serious violations must be punishable with maximum terms of at least five or at least three years, depending on how serious they are. For legal persons, the Directive introduces a much stricter system of financial penalties. For the most serious environmental crimes, the maximum fine must be at least 5% of the company’s total worldwide turnover or at least EUR 40 million. For other offences, the maximum fine must be at least 3% of worldwide turnover or EUR 24 million. The Directive also encourages the use of additional sanctions, such as exclusion from public tenders, withdrawal of licences, or court-ordered corrective measures. The Directive also recognises the need for stronger enforcement. Environmental crimes are often not reported or prosecuted, and investigative capacities differ widely across Member States. To improve this, the Directive requires closer cooperation between police, prosecutors, customs authorities, and specialised agencies. It also calls for better training for judicial authorities, minimum standards for data collection, and stronger cross-border cooperation, especially in cases involving organised crime groups. The reform also aligns with international standards, including the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law. Although the convention has not yet entered into force, it provides a comprehensive framework for addressing environmental harm as a criminal matter. Both the EU directive and the convention share the same objectives: to strengthen deterrence, support international cooperation, and establish a common understanding of what constitutes serious environmental offences. Overall, the new EU approach is the most ambitious reform of environmental criminal law to date. By expanding the list of criminal offences, increasing sanctions, and improving enforcement structures, the EU aims to make environmental law more effective in practice. Member States must transpose Directive (EU) 2024/1203 into national law by May 2026, after which the new rules will gradually take effect. The next few years will show whether these measures help reduce environmental crime and support better protection of natural resources. Stefan Radaković