The Impact of International and European Law on the Development of Environmental Protection Through Criminal Law in Poland

Abstract

The issue of environmental protection through criminal law is primarily associated with the fight against the most serious attacks on the environment. The progressive degradation of natural ecosystems, which is an important consequence of the development of human civilisation, has shown that one of the most important challenges of modern man is to provide the environment with adequate and effective protection. It should be emphasized that although the main burden of such protection is implemented through administrative law and to a lesser degree through civil law instruments, the use of criminal law in environmental protection as an ultima ratio of this protection has proved to be absolutely necessary. Legal regulations regarding the criminal law protection of the environment in Poland have gone a long way in terms of development. It should be emphasized, however, that the shape and development of criminal law protection of the environment in Poland has been significantly influenced by European legislation, which was obviously related to Poland’s accession to the European Union in 2004 and international law, in particular the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, signed on March 3, 1973 in Washington, DC, and the Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, which was opened for signature in Basel on March 22, 1989. The article presents the most important issues related to the impact of European and international law on the development of environmental protection through criminal law in Poland.