The example of German environmental criminal law (ECOCRIME)

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Project period: 01.01.2007 - 31.12.2009

Germany was one of the first countries to apply criminal sanctions to environmental offences. German environmental criminal law was first established in 1980 and the debate on its merits continue to this day. The ECOCRIME project is making an empirical and theoretical contribution to this debate. The aim of this project is to gain an understanding of whether criminal sanctions actually help achieve sustainability goals. This work focuses on the regulatory realities involved in the practical implementations of criminal sanctions.
A related issue is what contributions an improved system that draws on empirical evidence and modern regulatory literature could make. Using applied theory and econometric analysis, this project is examining existing regulations, their application in day-to-day practice, and alternative enforcement systems. In the process, the ecocrime project will make use of, inter alia, extensive criminal, prosecution and judicial statistics.

Further information is available on the project website.

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