Environmental Crime Research Articles

The speaking, saying and doxa of Samarco Mineração S.A. and Brazilian magazines on Mariana’s environmental crime: notes from the treadmills of production, crime, and law

PurposeThis paper aims to analyze what Samarco and Brazilian magazines speak and say about Mariana’s environmental crime. Discover their doxa in this subject. Interpret the speakings, sayings and doxas through the theories of the treadmills of production, crime and law.Design/methodology/approachIt is a qualitative and documental research and a narrative analysis. Regarding the documents: 45 were from public authorities, 14 from Samarco Mineração S.A. and 73 from Brazilian magazines. Theoretically, the authors resorted to Bourdieusian sociology (speaking, saying and doxa) and the treadmills of production, crime and law theories.FindingsSamarco: speaking – mission statements; saying – detailed information and economic and financial concerns; doxa – assistance discourse. Brazilian magazines: speaking – external agents; saying – agreements; doxa – attribution, aggravations, historical facts, impacts and protests.Research limitations/implicationsThe absence of discussions that addressed this fatality, with its respective consequences, from an agenda that exposed and denounced how it exacerbated race, class and gender inequalities.Practical implicationsRegarding Mariana’s environmental crime: Samarco Mineração S.A. speaks and says through the treadmill of production theory and supports its doxa through the treadmill of crime theory, and Brazilian magazines speak and say through the treadmill of law theory and support their doxa through the treadmill of crime theory.Social implicationsTo provoke reflections on the relationship between the mining companies and the communities where they settle to develop their productive activities.Originality/valueConcerning environmental crime in perspective, submit it to a theoretical interpretation based on sociological references, approach it in a debate linked to environmental criminology, and describe it through narratives exposed by the guilty company and by Brazilian magazines with high circulation.

An Assessment of Afghanistan Legislative Efforts in Relation to International Environmental Commitments

Afghanistan formally joined the United Nations in 1946 and remains is a strong participant in this important organization, particularly in the United Nations Environmental Program. Afghanistan signed the (CITES) of Wild Fauna and Flora on October 30, 1985, as part of its commitment to environmental Protection, in 2006 Afghanistan enacted an Environmental Law. My research is based on librarian methods which depend on national and international materials, and has exhaustively analyzed the international treaties that Afghanistan has ratified, as well as its environmental legislation. In addition, to approach its international duties, the country formed a National Environmental Protection Agency and adopted a special law for the protection of the environment. Furthermore, Afghanistan has established six regulations at a lower legislative level to effectively address environmental issues. The government has also included environmental crimes in its penal law, including punishments for such offenses. However, while Afghanistan has made efforts in terms of environmental legislation and involvement in international treaties, there are certain shortcomings. The Afghan government's commitment to international environmental and climate change duties looks insufficient, and its legal efforts fall short of the mark. Furthermore, international cooperation in this area is limited. Finally, it is suggested that the Afghan government enhance its participation in international treaties and conferences concerning the environment and climate change. Afghanistan should broaden and speed up the legislative process to achieve its environmental legal duties, while also upgrading its efforts in the sphere of environmental conservation and climate change mitigation.

The Human Right to an Environment Safe for Life and Health: Legal Regulation, Contemporary Challenges and Comparative Perspectives

Abstract: The purpose of the research is to disclose human rights to an environment safe for life and health. Main content. The article reveals relationship between the concepts of “human rights” and "citizen’s rights” in the environmental sphere, “ecological rights”, “ecological responsibilities” and “the human right to an environment safe for life and health”. The war initiated by Russia caused significant damage to the environment, social and industrial infrastructure, flora and fauna. Methodology: The methodological basis of the research is the dialectical method of scientific knowledge, through the application of this method considered were legal, functional, organizational and procedural aspects of the essence of human rights to an environment safe for life and health. Conclusions. The legal grounds for the allocation of ecological rights to a separate institution in the system of constitutional rights are singled out, and their definition is derived. It was emphasized that Ukrainian citizens and non-governmental organizations made a lot of efforts to document the damages. In particular, EcoAction and Environment People Law organizations collect and publish relevant data on an ongoing basis. Thus, the "EcoZagroza" platform regularly publishes estimates of damages caused by environmental crimes, these estimates are calculated by the State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine.
 Key words: human right, constitutional law, environmental conservation, environmental legislation, law.

Legal policy and overcoming global environmental concerns

The article is dedicated to the theoretical analysis of legal instruments for regulating environmental problems that are directly aimed at protecting the environment.
 Current global environmental problems inevitably influence environmental policy, on the one hand, acting as the cause of its formation, and on the other hand, environmental policy means directly combating it. It is therefore necessary to note that at the current stage, environmental and legal policy will require enhanced modernization, both at the sovereign level and at the local level.
 Environmental-legal policy is a scientifically grounded, systemic activity of special subjects to create an effective mechanism of legal regulation through a civilized approach to legal means and mechanisms of access Many goals such as preserving the natural environment and natural systems, enhancing their integrity and important functions for life and well-being , promoting the quality of life and healthy population, promoting the demographic situation, ensuring the guarantee of environmental rights of communities, forming a high level of legal and environmental culture of humanity.
 Also, the main directions of legal policy in the fight against current global environmental problems are: the creation of a legal mechanism for ensuring the protection of the environment; prevention and elimination of the threat of environmental safety; improvement of environmental legislation and practices; intensifying the fight against environmental crimes (ecocide, environmental terrorism) and increasing the effectiveness of anti-corruption policy.
 The increase in the ecological and legal culture of citizens and the formation of a new type of individual. A person is a part of nature and is in a dual relationship with the environment, in one case he is the main source of pollution, in the other - he acts as its protector, carrying out environmental protection activities.

Interpol activities against environmental crime

The article focuses on describing the main areas of Interpol’s activities in combating environmental crime. It is indicated that Interpol’s activities in combating environmental crime include the following areas: crimes against wildlife, crimes in the field of fisheries, crimes in the field of forestry, pollution and related crimes. It is noted that an extensive structure has been created within the Organization to combat these crimes. In particular, a group responsible for combating environmental crimes was created - the Environmental Security Programme (ENS). The ENS aims to assist member states in effectively enforcing national legislation and international environmental law, as well as to ensure law enforcement cooperation, combine the efforts of various government agencies and encourage coordinated cross­border actions to maintain environmental security. It is noted that the activities of ENS are closely interrelated and supported by the Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Committee (ECEC). The ECEC helps INTERPOL to identify emerging patterns and trends in environmental crime and develop law enforcement responses to address identified threats; it acts as a strategic advisory group of INTERPOL on policy development and project implementation related to the prevention and suppression of environmental crime and law violations. It is emphasised that the ECEC has four working groups on crimes: Fisheries (FCWG), Forestry (FoCWG), Wildlife (WCWG) and Pollution (PCWG). Each group brings together forensic scientists and experts from around the world who work on threat-based activities and provide the Committee and INTERPOL with expert advice on how to respond to various threats. It is noted that INTERPOL also provides a range of other tools and services in the field of combating environmental crime: the I-24/7 system, notices, ecomessages, Regional Investigative and Analytical Case Meetings (RIACMs), Investigative Support Teams (ISTs), operations, National Environmental Security Task Forces (NeSts) etc.

Problems of prevention of criminal offenses related to the use of water resources in Kazakhstan

AbstractThe protection of the environment and its elements is the responsibility of modern society for the possibility of its development in the future. That is why the issues of protection of this category of relations are relevant today in the legal plane. It is important to establish not only an effective mechanism for punishing the guilty but also for preventing the commission of criminal offenses against natural objects. The purpose of the study is to identify effective approaches for the prevention of crimes related to the use of water bodies. In the study, the methods of analysis and synthesis, comparison, deduction, generalization, formal legal, and abstraction were applied. As a result, it was possible to determine that the current state of water bodies in Kazakhstan is deteriorating, so they may be at a crisis level in the future. In view of this, the paper investigated the composition of a criminal offense related to the illegal use of water bodies. This made it possible to determine the current position of the legislator on the regulation of this issue in the legal dimension. In addition, the methods and tools that are used in Kazakhstan to prevent the spread of this type of criminal offense were established. Based on this, their shortcomings were analyzed, and proposals were developed to improve the process of preventing such crimes. Therefore, the place of environmental crimes in the modern criminal law doctrine was determined, and international experience in preventing such offenses was considered. The practical value of the findings is the possibility of using them to develop new national strategies and programs aimed at countering crimes in the field of water use.

Problems of sanctioning economic environmental crime in the Czech Republic

The article deals with economic environmental crime, i.e. those illegal attacks on the environment that are perceived as the most serious. Using the example of the Czech Republic, a post-communist state in Eastern Europe that joined the European Union, the main problems associated with its criminal prosecution are presented. As a result of the analysis, the key factors of insufficient prosecution of economic environmental crime are identified, i.e. in particular high latency, low clearance of registered suspicions, mild punishment and ineffectiveness of criminal repression against corporations. In conclusion, proposals are made for certain measures, both in terms of legislation and application practice, which would positively influence the above factors.

Review contribution to environmental crime

In this study, the researchers find the key spots and recent changes in environmental crime. Using bibliometric analysis, the researchers examined a sample of 772 research from the ISI Web of Science database to find research activity on environmental crime between 2004 and 2022. Also, the researchers visualized the knowledge domains in this field using bibliometric software like CiteSpace and R-Biblioshiny. The research unravels the most influential published articles and authors on their citations and publications and their location and significance within the connection. The researchers further examined the recent themes, identified the barriers to developing literature in this field, and made recommendations for future research. Research on environmental crime globally lacks cross-border collaborations between emerging and developed economies. The researchers concluded the study by recommending three future research directions.

Impact of the full-scale war in Ukraine on the environment: Environmental damage assessment

The full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation has threatened not only the sovereignty and integrity of Ukraine but also the state of the environment, as military operations have a direct impact on the quality of natural resources, which makes this topic relevant. The study aims to determine the impact of the war on the state of the environment in Ukraine, as well as on the environmental rights of citizens. The methods used in the study included statistical, legal hermeneutics, induction, comparative methods, and others. The study results are the essence of environmental protection and the main components of this category, namely, soil, land, water resources, atmosphere, and biodiversity. The author clarifies the essence of the environmental rights of Ukrainian citizens and what they consist of, as well as how they can be violated. It is pointed out that in the context of military confrontation, Ukrainians are limited in their ability to stay in an environment that is safe for health and life. An estimate of the environmental damage caused by the hostilities is provided, which amounts to $59.7 billion, but is not entirely accurate or definitive, given the obstacles to data collection and lack of access to the occupied territories. The most common negative consequences of military operations and the environmental damage they cause are illustrated, examines in more detail such an environmental crime as the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, and provides an estimate of material damage to various sectors, as well as the impact on the environment in the region. The differences between the Ukrainian methodology for assessing environmental damage and the American and European ones are noted. The article emphasises the need to take into account international recommendations and the use of the latest technologies to collect data on the long-term consequences of environmental damage caused by a full- scale invasion. The results of the study can be used for further work and practical improvements to the methodology for assessing environmental damage by lawyers and environmentalists

Controlling the environment with Artificial Intelligence risks intensifying social inequalities and colonization

I explore the benefits and shortcomings of including Artificial Intelligence (AI) in environmental governance and remaining within planetary boundaries. AI for the environment should be used with other tools and knowledge such as humanistic, social, and ethical values. AI systems can help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, ocean acidification, and chemical pollution, safeguard biodiversity, improve water use in agriculture, support vulnerable societies, and combat environmental crimes. AI can efficiently analyze data, monitor, predict and manage natural resources. AI systems does not only describe nature but also active shape by transforming agriculture, fishery, infrastructure, and construction practices. Nevertheless, AI systems enable novel paths for environmental control. The developers from these algorithms commonly originate from prosperous nations, whereas the impact of these algorithms is global. Hence, people with lesser resources and agency are left at a disadvantage to advocate for their interests. These inequalities can result in a new way of colonizing, where wealthier individuals impose their agendas on the rest of the global population. The impact of AI systems on environmental governance is of an unprecedented scale. Ideally, AI systems should adhere to internationally agreed ethical and legal principles.

Implementation of Minister of Environment Regulation Number 7 of 2014 in The Implementation of Additional Criminal For Corporations That Commit Environmental Crime

The implementation of PERMEN-LH Number 7 of 2014 as a legal basis for imposing additional penalties for corporations raises problems because the related regulations have weaknesses in implementation, such as: aspects of legal synchronization, overlapping authority, potential legal consequences in the form of lawsuits against unlawful acts and uncertainty in determining the extent of the affected area due to criminal acts that affect the amount of costs incurred by corporations as additional penalties. The purpose of this study is to find out and analyze To find out and analyze the implementation of the Minister of Environment Regulation Number 7 of 2014 in several environmental criminal cases. To find out and analyze the legal consequences in the Minister of Environment Regulation Number 7 of 2014 on the enforcement of environmental criminal law in Indonesia. Additional penalties as in Article 119 UUPPLH do not have detailed implementing rules regarding the mechanism of its application. PERMEN-LH Number 7 of 2014 which is often used by law enforcement officials in environmental cases has weaknesses such as: not in sync with Article 119 of Law Number 32 of 2009 concerning Environmental Protection and Management; there is an overlap of authority between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry in terms of environmental restoration; and lack of certainty in calculating the extent of the affected area due to criminal acts. The imposition of additional penalties in the form of repairs due to criminal acts that are converted into a sum of money in Decision Number 256 / Pid.sus / PN Rgt; Case Number: 37 / Pid.Sus-LH / 2018 / PN; Case Number 349 / PID.B-LH / 2019 / PN.Plw has not been able to provide protection for the environment because it is considered non-tax state revenue (PNBP), which is entirely deposited into the State Treasury, thus the funds cannot be used as restoration or environmental improvement funds

Impression management following investigation and prosecution scandal in Norwegian police: a review of press releases

ABSTRACT This article presents research regarding impression management following a white-collar investigation and prosecution scandal by the National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime in Norway. The authority issued 39 press releases in one year, which communicate focus on less serious crime cases combined with deterrence by taking on cases without ever bringing them to court. Deterrence strategy by investigations implies that the authority passes penalties on suspects who never have a chance to defend themselves in court. The penalty is suffering from negative public attention, lack of job opportunities, and time spent in detention and interrogation as an accused where they have to explain themselves. The authority then behaves like a court where they punish people. However, that is a role assigned to judges and not to investigators or prosecutors. The authority argues that it is difficult to obtain the necessary information without a thorough investigation. While this is certainly true, a policing principle seems forgotten that an investigation should only be launched when it is somehow obvious that crime has indeed occurred.

Environmental Crime Dispute Resolution: A Comparative Study Between Lebanese and French Legislation

Environmental Crime Dispute Resolution: A Comparative Study Between Lebanese and French Legislation

Strict Liability as an Expansion of the Meaning of Criminal Acts in Environmental Crimes

The problems in overcoming criminal acts in the environmental sector not only need practice but also need development and improvement in theoretical studies, so that the purpose of the laws and regulations formed reaches their goals. One of the interesting discussions to be reviewed in depth is the applicability of the concept of strict liability or absolute responsibility in enforcing criminal law in the environmental sector, as regulated in Article 88 of Law Number 32 of 2009 concerning environmental protection and management. Strict liability in general is to put criminal liability to the perpetrator of a criminal act without the necessity of guilt. In other words, errors with the concept of strict liability can be ruled out. Eliminating wrongdoing does not mean eliminating evidence for criminal acts that have indeed been committed. The conduct of a criminal act is the basis on which a person can be held criminally liable (determining the presence or absence of a mistake). However, in the concept of strict liability, this does not apply on the contrary, a person who has committed a criminal act has also been fulfilled with the element of guilt, so it does not need to be proven or ruled out. The criminal act becomes completed, and the element of guilt is evidenced by the loss arising as a result of the criminal act committed.
 Keywords: strict liability, criminal acts, environmental crime 1.

The Criminal Justice System in Environmental Crime by Corporations

Environmental law has advanced quickly, not only in relation to the role of law as a means of development (a tool of social engineering) with the function of an agent of development or agent of change, but also more prominently about the function of law as protection, control, and legal certainty for society (social control) with the role of agent of stability. This legal research is normative legal research with a focus on positive legal norms (ius constitutum), that is, it focuses more on the application of positive legal norms and principles using a statutory approach (statutes approach), which is pertinent to the study of how legal issues are formulated in this legal research. Law Number 11 of 2020 Concerning Job Creation’s environmental cluster setting, particularly the elimination of criminal penalties, is extremely inappropriate. Due to the repeal of criminal penalties in Law Number 11 of 2020 Concerning Job Creation, administrative sanctions are not subject to stringent regulation. Legislation that prioritizes environmental and health issues and establishes a legal framework for the environment is required. This legislation should be written utilizing the omnibus process once more.
 Keywords: criminal system reconstruction, environmental law, Law Number 11 of 2020

The Indonesian and French Justice System (in Comparison of Structure and Mechanism)

The Indonesian and French justice systems share similarities in structure, mechanism, and trial stages. However, the Indonesian system is considered better due to its structure and non-overlapping trial examination mechanisms. The highest court in Indonesia is the Supreme Court, while in France, the highest court is the Courts de Cassation and the Council of Cassation. Experts often reference the French judicial system, but the author believes the existing judiciary, particularly the Constitutional Court, should be maintained, and there is no need to imitate the French judicial system.
 Keywords: strict liability, criminal acts, environmental crime

Additional Sanction as an Effort to Restore the Environment Due to Land Fires

Environmental damage in Indonesia has directly impacted human life, one of which is forest/land fires. Burning forests and land can be considered a form of crime because the action has an impact that can harm the interests of many people. Perpetrators of forest and land fire crimes can be subject to two types of sanctions, namely the main criminal sanctions and additional sanctions. This study aimed to discuss how to apply additional punishment in environmental crimes due to land fires. The study’s approach used to conduct this study is of normative law studies. This method focuses on analyzing positive and general legal principles. The application of additional criminal sanctions in Law Number 32 of 2009 is an additional penalty to cover the deficiencies of the principal criminal. Where the maximum fine sanction has a special maximum provision that is less than how much money lost or incurred because of additional criminal acts. The Act for Environmental Management and Protection verbally expressively accommodates the concept of a double-track system, namely the imposition of criminals and additional criminal sanctions simultaneously on perpetrators of environmental crimes. If additional criminal sanctions, in the form of recovery, cannot be carried out by corporations, then additional criminal sanctions that are equivalent and repressive in the form of confiscating assets or closing all or part of business activities can be used as suspension of sanctions.
 Keywords: additional penal, environment recovery, fire

Key determinants of environmental crime in Russia

The subject of the study is the peculiarities of ensuring environmental security in countering environmental crime. Effective counteraction to it is impossible without detailed data on the causes of environmental crime. Modern Russian concepts of the determination of criminal behavior are diverse, but they are based on the analysis of the social complex of causes of crime. Scientists divide the established approaches into three groups depending on the presence in the center of determinants of social processes, subjective causes, or biological properties of the criminal’s personality. Environmental crime has peculiarities, and both general and specific determinants may underlie the genesis of criminal behavior. Using a wide range of general scientific methods (primarily content analysis and instrumental analysis), the authors substantiate the conclusion about the selfserving nature of environmental crime. The main criminal threat to environmental security is acts of socially dangerous behavior committed against natural resources and aimed at illegal trafficking. The perpetrator, acting for personal enrichment, does not realise the damage to the natural environment most times. Other types of environmental crimes relate to improper fulfilment by economic entities of their obligations in environmentally safe operation of industrial and other facilities. The listed types have a small percentage of the overall structure of environmental crime. Such factors as the demand for natural resource products and marginalization of part of the population living in resource-rich but economically depressed regions of Russia underlie the determinants of criminal behavior.

Penitentiary liability for environmental crimes

Speaking about the social importance of preventing crimes in the field of the environment, it is worth noting the danger of consequences caused by these acts. The planned course of the policy of humanization of criminal law has an ambiguous effect on the reduction of environmental crimes. As a result, in places of deprivation of liberty there are persons convicted (including for environmental crimes) in respect of which cases of acquiring the status of a persistent violator of the sentence serving regime are not excluded. The article discusses the problems of changing the legal status of those convicted of environmental crimes. A structural, retrospective and comparative legal analysis of the concept of «malicious violator» in the legislation is carried out. The study analyzes the points of view of scientists who determine the legal personality of a convicted person for environmental crimes. On their basis, the goals and objectives are synthesized to establish the doctrinal positions of the legal personality of malicious violators of the penitentiary regime, their features and specific features are given. In particular, the issues of the emergence of their legal capacity, capacity to act and «delictual capacity» are disclosed. Summarizing the discussion conducted in the study, the authors cite their own concept of a malicious penitentiary violator, highlighting the special legal status of a convicted person for crimes in the field of ecology.

Социально-правовая природа общественной опасности экологических преступлений и ее влияние на криминализацию и пенализацию

The public danger of environmental crimes is considered. It is argued that this legal category is subject to change due to so-cio-political and economic transformations of society. It is noted that the public danger of encroachments on the natural envi-ronment and the established procedure for the use of natural resources is increasing, which is associated with the increasing role of nature in the life of society, the growing need to preserve it in the highest quality condition. It is indicated that public danger directly influences the construction of elements of environmental crimes, as well as the determination of the type, size and dura-tion of punishment for their commission. The fact is stated that the social danger of the acts in question is influenced not only by the fact of its harmfulness, but also by other circumstances, in particular, the repetition of the commission. General conclusions are made that there is a need to specify the assessment categories characterizing the harm caused by environmental crimes; ac-tive use of mechanisms of administrative prejudice, special recidivism and other forms of recording the repetition of environ-mentally hazardous behavior; the need to formulate elements of crimes involving delayed environmental harm as elements of a real threat; it is necessary to take into account the consequences of the “first” level in crimes where the main harmful impact is indirect; There is an urgent need to tighten sanctions for environmental crimes in proportion to the increased importance of protected social relations.