Further Guidance and Materials
Providing more guidance for prosecuting environmental crime, is also one of the key actions as defined by the European Commission as part of their Environmental Compliance Assurance work. A good practice guidance document on strategies for combating environmental crimes and other related breaches, with a particular focus on waste and wildlife offences has been released in April 2020.
LIFE-ENPE Project – sanctioning environmental crime
A more recent report was published in 2018 in the framework of the LIFE-ENPE Project on sanctioning environmental crime. One of the four working groups looked at issues of sanctioning, prosecuting and judicial practice of environmental crime in 8 Member States.
Many of the conclusions reflected the findings from the above Eurojust report. Additionally, the study highlights the need for further training of prosecutors and judges in this field, the necessity to encompass the criminal as well as the administrative sanctioning track when enforcing EU legislation in the field and recommend comprehensive EU guidelines on good practices regarding the design of environmental law enforcement legislation in the Member States.
Basel Convention Instruction Manual
The “Instruction manual on the prosecution of illegal traffic of hazardous wastes or other wastes” prepared by the Basel Convention Secretariat provides an understanding of the practice of prosecuting cases of illegal traffic in hazardous waste or other waste within the scope of the Basel Convention. The manual is available in English, French, Spanish, Arabis and Russian. There are more useful guidance documents under the Basel Convention related to waste crime, most notably the Guidance Elements for Detection, Prevention and Control of Illegal Traffic in Hazardous Waste. See all manuals here.
WasteForce Waste Crime Prosecution Guidance
In order to support prosecution of waste crime and increase the knowledge of prosecutors responsible for dealing with cases of waste crime, the WasteForce project announced the launch of the Waste Crime Prosecution Guidance in 2020. This Guidance is intended to provide guidance and practical information for authorities involved in the prosecution of cases of illegal traffic in hazardous or other waste. Whilst the scope of the illegal transboundary trade in waste is a focus of the Guidance, it is also intended to provide guidance in the prosecution of waste crime in general.