EUROPEAN LEGAL APPROACH TO COMBAT ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME

Abstract

The paper deals with European legal approach to combat environmental crime. It is divided into three sections. The first section analyses its legal framework, namely the Convention on the Protection of Environment through Criminal Law of 1998, the Directive 2008/99/EC on the protection of the environment through criminal law and the Directive 2005/35/EC on ship-source pollution and on the introduction of penalties for infringements. The second section is focused on crimes and sanctions as defined by mentioned documents. The last third section briefly introduces European networks and agencies combating environmental crime, namely the European Network against Environmental Crime and the European Maritime Safety Agency.