Penal Protection of Environment from Oil Operators Pollutants

Abstract

Today, the protection of the environment has assumed an even more prominent position with the rapid industrialization resulting not only in the overuse of our limited natural resources but also causing the pollution of the environment. One of the most serious environmental dilemmas we face is oil pollution. The wastes of oil operators, if not treated properly, will inevitably lead to pollution of the environment and may cause life-threatening disasters for all creatures and for many years. Hence, the entire ecosystem could be irreversibly damaged that cost normal life of the mankind. With the beginning of oil industry in Kurdistan Region of Iraq mainly post 2003, the legislator in Kurdistan initiated to issue two laws with the aim of organizing its oil sector and protecting Kurdistan’s environment with its three elements of soil, water and air. Being recent to and lacking experience of the authorities in Kurdistan Region about Oil operations and its negative impacts had reflected on the contents of those two laws. Thus, they were issued with a number of legal loopholes that hindered them to achieve the objectives of environmental security, particularly Environment Penal Protection. In this context, considering the importance of this topic in Kurdistan Region of Iraq, this research attempts to explain and evaluate these two laws, addressing the issues with identifying potential legal solutions to prevent oil pollution infringements in the region which will be a contribution to the development of Kurdistan Region of Iraq.