Prevent and combat environmental crime, promote national and international cooperation and establish minimum legal rules that guide the states in their respective national legislations, to promote and improve the protection of the environment.
Thus the Committee of the Ministers of Council of Europe (composed of the ministers of foreign affairs of all Member States or their permanent delegates in Strasbourg = has adopted a fundamental treaty and few know it: The agreement on the protection of the environment through criminal law, which defines and criminalize a wide range of serious environmental crimes.
58 articles that will allow the states of pursue behaviors that cause environmental disasters “comparable to ecocide”. It is now open to the signature and will come into force once ratified by at least 10 states, including 8 members of the Council of Europe.
Although the term “eco -food” is not used in the operational clauses, the preamble of the Convention makes explicit reference to the end and its provisions on “particularly serious crimes” and “aggravating circumstances” faithfully reflect the definition of 2021 proposed by the group of independent experts convened by the echocide foundation stop.
How the Convention works
The substantial criminal law (26 articles) establishes crimes such as, by way of example but not exhaustive:
- Pollution illegal (chemicals, radioactive materials, mercury, substances that reduce the layer of ozone, fluorinated greenhouse gases)
- Illegal management of hazardous waste
- Illegal exercise or closure of systems connected to dangerous activities or substances
- Illegal recycling of ships and unloads of polluting substances by ships
- Mining illegal
- Trade of lagnage cut illegally
- Illegal destruction or trade of Wild fauna or flora
- Illegal deterioration of habitat protected
A provision on the “Particularly serious crime”, which includes intentional illegal behaviors that could lead to serious results, for example widespread pollution, serious industrial accidents or forest fires on a large scale. These crimes can be assimilated to“Ecocide”, already present in the right of some states and discussed in international offices.
Finally, the agreement contains the specific provisions of criminal law concerning jurisdiction (national and extraterritorial crimes); corporate liability; The sanctions and aggravating circumstances (for example, organized crime, involvement of public officials, substantial financial advantages).
