Enforcement of European Union Environmental Law


Book Description

Offering a detailed account of the various legal arrangements at European Union level, this book is an ideal reference tool for practitioners and legal scholars. As well as examining the principal sources of EU environmental law enforcement, it also contributes to the legal and political debates that surround the subject. Spanning three parts, the author examines the practical impact of the legal arrangements at Union level that are used to uphold EU environmental norms. Offering a comprehensive account of the current state of EU environmental law enforcement and the developments affecting it, Martin Hedemann-Robinson explores the role of the European Commission, the possibilities for private law enforcement, and the responsibilities of member state national authorities. Key legal developments that have occurred since the first edition have been incorporated, including new statutory developments and case law. Particular attention is paid to the impact of the 2007 Lisbon Treaty on foundational EU treaty provisions enabling the European Commission to take legal action against EU member states infringing Union environmental law, the establishment of a new legal architecture at Union level on the topic of environmental criminal policy, as well as increased EU legislative intervention in the area of environmental inspections. The impact of the 1998 Århus Convention on EU environmental law enforcement is also addressed in detail, including the influence of recommendations of the Århus Convention’s Compliance Committee.




Research Handbook on EU Environmental Law


Book Description

This comprehensive Research Handbook discusses how the EU has used its regulatory power to steer towards environmentally friendly behaviour, delving into the deep concerns related to the compliance with and enforcement of EU environmental law. It also highlights the important role of civil society’s use of environmental procedural rights, and characterizes how the CJEU case law has contributed to the effective implementation of EU environmental legislation.




Criminal Enforcement of Environmental Law in the European Union


Book Description

This provides not only a summary of the criminal prosecution of environmental law in the various countries, but also addresses differences and similarities in practice with respect to environmental criminal law. A critical analysis of the answers is also provided."--Jacket.




EU Law Enforcement


Book Description

The existence of a structured enforcement system is an inherent feature of national legal orders and one of the core elements of State sovereignty. The very limited power to issue sanctions has often been deemed a gap in the EC legal order. Over the years, the situation has progressively changed. The Union’s institutional setting is growing in complexity and a variety of agencies has been or is expected to be endowed with law enforcement responsibilities. In addition, the so-called competence creep has led the EU to play an increasingly prominent role in several areas of EU law enforcement, including the issuing of sanctions. This book examines these developments, focusing on both the general features of the EU legal order and the analysis of key-substantive areas, such as banking and monetary union, environmental law, and data protection. The work thus presents a general framework for understanding EU sanctioning based on structural features and general legal principles. Part I develops an analytical framework, tracking the most significant evolutive patterns of EU sanctioning powers. Part II adopts a more practical approach focusing on specific issues and policy areas. The book bridges a gap in existing literature and sheds new light on the relationship between the exercise of jus puniendi and the evolution of EU integration.




Fighting Environmental Crime in Europe and Beyond


Book Description

This book brings together the findings of a multi-disciplinary and international research project on environmental crime in Europe, funded by the European Union (EU). “European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime" (EFFACE) was a 40-month research project that included eleven European research institutions and think tanks and was led by Ecologic Institute Berlin. EFFACE assessed the impacts of environmental crime as well as effective and feasible policy options for combating it from a multidisciplinary perspective, with a focus on the EU. As part of this project, numerous instances of environmental crime within and outside of the EU were studied and are now presented in this volume. This edited collection is highly innovative in showing not only the many facets of environmental crime, but also how it should be conceptualised and the consequences. An original and rigorous study, this book will be of particular interest to policy makers and scholars of green criminology and environmental studies.




EU Environmental Law


Book Description

EU Environmental Law discusses the reality for legal practice throughout the EU, as environmental law of the Member States is becoming ever less 'national'. Consequentially European environmental regulation is becoming more complex and interrelated, making it an emerging field of study for European law graduates, and an area of increasing exposure to the legal profession. This book gives readers a thorough overview of core European environmental law, with a section on the basic framework and principles, as well as on substantive law issues giving insight into the legislation in the different sectors and the most topical developments.







The Role of EU Agencies in Fighting Transnational Environmental Crime


Book Description

This study by Valsamis Mitsilegas and Fabio Giuffrida addresses the role of the EU criminal justice agencies -Europol and Eurojust- in tackling transnational environmental crime and it shows that their full potential is not yet adequately exploited in this field.




The Law of the European Union and the European Communities


Book Description

The Law of the European Union is a complete reference work on all aspects of the law of the European Union, including the institutional framework, the Internal Market, Economic and Monetary Union and external policy and action. Completely revised and updated, with many newly written chapters, this fifth edition of the most thorough resource in its field provides the most comprehensive and systematic account available of the law of the European Union (EU). Written by a new team of experts in their respective areas of European law, its coverage incorporates and embraces many current, controversial, and emerging issues and provides detailed attention to historical development and legislative history of EU law. Topics that are constantly debated in European legal analysis and practice are touched on in ways that are both fundamental and enlightening, including the following: .powers and functions of the EU law institutions and relationship among them; .the principles of equality, loyalty, subsidiarity, and proportionality; .free movement of persons, goods, services, and capital; .mechanisms of constitutional change – treaty revisions, accession treaties, withdrawal agreements; .budgetary principles and procedures; .State aid rules; .effect of Union law in national legal systems; .coexistence of EU, European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), and national fundamental rights law; .migration and asylum law; .liability of Member States for damage suffered by individuals; .competition law – cartels, abuse of dominant position, merger control; .social policy, equal pay, and equal treatment; .environmental policy, consumer protection, public health, cultural policy, education, and tourism; .nature of EU citizenship, its acquisition, and loss; and .law and policy of the EU’s external relations. The fifth edition embraces many new, ongoing, and emerging European legal issues. As in the previous editions, the presentation is notable for its attention to how the law relates to economic and political realities and how the various policy areas interact with each other and with the institutional framework. The many practitioners and scholars who have relied on the predecessors of this definitive work for years will welcome this extensively revised and updated edition. Those coming to the field for the first time will instantly recognize that they are in the presence of a masterwork that can always be turned to with profit and that helps in understanding the rationale underlying any EU law provision or principle.




Environmental Crime in Transnational Context


Book Description

Environmental crime is one of the most profitable and fastest growing areas of international criminal activity. The increasing cross-border scope of environmental crimes and harms is one of the reasons why governments and the enforcement community have trouble in finding the proper responses. Law enforcement cooperation between western industrialized states is often time consuming and problematic, and the problems increase exponentially when environmental criminals take advantage of situations where government and law enforcement are weak. This book provides an overview of the developments and problems in the field of transnational environmental crimes and harms, addressing these issues from perspectives such as enforcement, deterrence, compliance and emission trading schemes. Divided into four parts, the authors consider global issues in green criminology, responses to transnational environmental crimes and harms, alternative methods to combat environmental crime, and specific types of crimes and criminological research. Discussing these topics from the view of green criminology, sociology and governance, this book will be of great interest to all those concerned about the transnational dimensions of crime and the environment.