Main Article Content
Abstract
Climate change poses a serious threat to the health and well-being of people and the environment and is one of the most pressing issues facing the European Union today. The damage caused by rising global temperatures, extreme weather events, and the resulting environmental degradation are not only ecological concerns but also directly impact human life. The greatest challenge for states worldwide is to find out how to combat climate change and its consequences with legislation. This situation demands a reevaluation of legal liability in the context of environmental harm. Traditional legal approaches often focus on punishing individual transgressions and direct harm, but climate change and environmental damage are collective and long-term problems that require a more systemic approach. The complexity of the problem comes from the fact that climate change and its serious consequences are the result of human action. However, most of these actions are legal. The special features of environmental harm and damage must encourage governments to reconsider the concept of legal liability and other general issues concerning the function of law. With normative legal methodology, this essay elaborates on these issues from the perspective of European Criminal Law and the criminalization of environmental harm.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Krisztina Ficsor
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References
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Act C of 2012 on the Criminal Code of Hungary, Criminal Code § 4, Subsection (1) (2012).
Baker, Dennis J. The Right Not to Be Criminalized: Demarcating Criminal Law’s Authority. Applied Legal Philosophy. London: Routledge, 2016. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315553481.
Bányai, Orsolya. “The Foundation of an Upcoming Civilization Able to Reach Its Fulfillment Within the Ecological Limits of the Earth: The Eternal Order.” World Futures 75, no. 5–6 (18 Agustus 2019): 298–323. https://doi.org/10.1080/02604027.2019.1591812.
Csemáné, Váradi Erika, Ilona Görgényi, József Gula, Tibor Horváth, Judit Jacsó, Miklós Lévay, dan Ferenc Sántha. Magyar Büntetőjog: Általános Rész. Budapest: Wolters Kluwer Kft., 2019. https://doi.org/10.55413/9789632956282.
Davis, Mark S. “Crimes Mala in Se: An Equity-Based Definition.” Criminal Justice Policy Review 17, no. 3 (September 2006): 270–89. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403405281962.
Dimock, Susan. “The Malum Prohibitum: Malum in Se Distinction and the Wrongfulness Constraint on Criminalization.” Dialogue 55, no. 1 (Maret 2016): 9–32. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0012217316000275.
Duff, R A. “A Criminal Law We Can Call Our Own?” Northwestern University Law Review 111, no. 6 (2017): 1491–1506.
Ervin, Belovics, Molnár Gábor Miklós, dan Sinku Pál. Büntetőjog II. Különös Rész: Kilencedik, Hatályosított Kiadás. Budapest: Orac Kiado, 2023. https://orac.hu/buntetojog_ii_kulonos_resz.
Eurojust. Report on Eurojust’s Casework on Environmental Crime. The Netherlands: Report on Eurojust’s Casework on Environmental Crime, 2021. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2812/780655.
European Commission. “Evaluation of the Directive 2008/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law (Environmental Crime and Directive).” Brussels: Council of the European Union, 28 Oktober 2020. https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2021-12/environmental_crime_evaluation_report.pdf.
———. “Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law and Replacing Directive 2008/99/EC.” Brussels, 15 Desember 2021. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52021PC0851.
European Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC). “Feasibility Study on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law.” Strasbourg: Conseil de l’Europe, 15 Juni 2022. http://www.coe.int/cdpc.
European Parliament and Council. “Directive (EU) 2024/1203 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law and Replacing Directives 2008/99/EC and 2009/123/EC.” Brussels: Official Journal of the European Union, 30 April 2024. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=OJ:L_202401203&qid=1728291003951.
Fischer, Anke. “On the Role of Ideas of Human Nature in Shaping Attitudes Towards Environmental Governance.” Human Ecology 38, no. 1 (Februari 2010): 123–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-009-9281-y.
Fischman, Joshua B. “Reuniting ‘Is’ and ‘Ought’ in Empirical Legal Scholarship.” University of Pennsylvania Law Review 117, no. Northwestern Public Law Research Paper No. 14-15 16 December 2013. https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=penn_law_review.
Gaál, Ferenc. “Hungary’s Big Bet on Batteries — and Its Costs.” dw.com, 31 Maret 2023. https://www.dw.com/en/hungarys-big-bet-on-batteries-and-its-costs/a-65193569.
Gellér, Balázs József. Legality on Trial: A Theoretical Analysis of the Legality of Substantive Criminal Norms. Elte Jogi Kari Tudomány 17. Budapest: Eövtvös University Press, 2012.
Gönczöl, Katalin. “Developing Humane Criminal Justice Systems in Democratic Societies: An Update from Hungary.” Probation Journal 52, no. 2 (Juni 2005): 181–86. https://doi.org/10.1177/0264550505052687.
Government of Hungary. “Decree of the Government of Hungary, Nr. 432/2023. (IX. 21.).” Budapest, 21 Oktober 2023.
Green, Stuart P. “The Conceptual Utility of Malum Prohibitum.” Dialogue 55, no. 1 (Maret 2016): 33–43. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0012217315000025.
Herlin-Karnell, Ester. The Constitutional Dimension of European Criminal Law. Hart Publishing, 2012. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781472566041.
Horder, Jeremy. Ashworth’s Principles of Criminal Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1093/he/9780192897381.001.0001.
Horváth, Gergely. “The Renewed Constitutional Level of Environmental Law in Hungary.” Acta Juridica Hungarica 56, no. 4 (Desember 2015): 302–16. https://doi.org/10.1556/026.2015.56.4.5.
Ignatova, Milena. “Criminal Law Policy of the EU Countries in the Field of Combating Environmental Crimes.” Sociopolitical sciences 10, no. 6 (28 Desember 2020): 42–48. https://doi.org/10.33693/2223-0092-2020-10-6-42-48.
Karsai, Krisztina, dan Liane Wörner. “European Union and Council of Europe: Special Focus on Criminal Law.” Dalam The Cambridge Companion to European Criminal Law, disunting oleh Kai Ambos dan Peter Rackow, 1 ed., 3–29. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108891875.003.
Kelly, Petra. K. “The Need for Eco-Justice.” The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs 14, no. 2 (1990): 327–31.
Kerekes, Sandor, dan Miklos Bulla. “Environmental Management in Hungary.” Environmental Impact Assessment Review 14, no. 2–3 (Maret 1994): 95–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/0195-9255(94)90027-2.
Krisztina, Karsai. “Európai Büntetőjog” in Jakab András – Könczöl Miklós – Menyhárd Attila Sulyok Gábor (Szerk.): Internetes Jogtudományi Enciklopédia.” Disunting oleh Zsolt Szomora. Belügyi Szemle 68, no. 1 (2023): 1–17.
Mészáros, Ádám. A Bűncselekmény Fogalmának Alapkérdései: A Bűncselekmény Fogalma És Csoportosítása A Magyar Büntetőjogban. Budapest: Országos Kriminológiai Intézet, 2020. https://www.okri.hu/images/stories/konyvajanlo/2020/Meszaros/Mesz_A_web_sec.pdf.
Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty. Canada: Batoche Books Limited, 2001. https://www.studocu.com/en-ca/document/university-of-winnipeg/government-policy-towards-business/mill-on-liberty-complete-highlighted/58682307.
Molnár, Tamás. “Impressions on the Role of Environmental Criminal Law in Present Day Society.” Belügyi Szemle 71, no. 2.ksz. (28 April 2023): 93–103. https://doi.org/10.38146/BSZ.SPEC.2023.2.6.
Mršić, Gordana. “Environmental Protection from the Aspect of Criminal Law.” Intereulaweast: Journal for the International and European Law, Economics and Market Integrations 8, no. 1 (2021): 129–51. https://doi.org/10.22598/iele.2021.8.1.7.
Paiusco, Sara. Nullum Crimen Sine Lege, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Foreseeability of the Law. 1 ed. Vol. 55. Schriften zum Internationalen und Europäischen Strafrecht. Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, 2021. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748922766.
Petersen, Felix. “Montesquieu and the Concept of the Non-Arbitrary State.” The European Legacy 28, no. 1 (2 Januari 2023): 25–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/10848770.2022.2106638.
Pink, Stephen, dan Joel Feinberg. “Social Philosophy.” The Philosophical Review 84, no. 2 (April 1975): 306. https://doi.org/10.2307/2183986.
Secondat, Charles Louis de, dan Baron de Montesquieu. Complete Works: The Spirit of Laws. Vol. 1. London: Liberty Fund, Inc., 1777. http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/837.
Trubowitz, Alexander. “Montesquieu’s Gentle Prince: The Law of Majesty and the Moderation of Despotism in the Spirit of the Laws.” History of European Ideas 44, no. 2 (17 Februari 2018): 194–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/01916599.2017.1393764.
Tsebelis, George, Christian B. Jensen, Anastassios Kalandrakis, dan Amie Kreppel. “Legislative Procedures in the European Union: An Empirical Analysis.” British Journal of Political Science 31, no. 04 (Oktober 2001). https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123401000229.
Valentini, Vico. “Continental Criminal Law and European Human Rights Law: A Complicated Relationship.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2013. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2352955.
White, Rob. Environmental Harm: An Eco-Justice Perspective. 1 ed. Bristol University Press, 2013. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qgsq7.
White, Robe. Climate Change Criminology. New Horizons in Criminology. Bristol Chicago: Bristol University Press, 2020.
Wolfe, Nancy Travis. “Mala In Se: A Disappearing Doctrine?” Criminology 19, no. 1 (Mei 1981): 131–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1981.tb00407.x.
Zachar, Zalán. “A Környezetkárosítás-Bűncselekmény Kriminálstatisztikai Mutatói És Az Elkövetők Szociálgeográfiai Vizsgálata.” Belügyi Szemle 68, no. 1 (15 Januari 2020): 33–51. https://doi.org/10.38146/BSZ.2020.1.2.
References
“Act C of 2012 on the Criminal Code, Chapter XXIII.” Budapest: Parliament of Hungary, 2012. https://thb.kormany.hu/download/a/46/11000/Btk_EN.pdf.
Act C of 2012 on the Criminal Code of Hungary, Criminal Code § 4, Subsection (1) (2012).
Baker, Dennis J. The Right Not to Be Criminalized: Demarcating Criminal Law’s Authority. Applied Legal Philosophy. London: Routledge, 2016. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315553481.
Bányai, Orsolya. “The Foundation of an Upcoming Civilization Able to Reach Its Fulfillment Within the Ecological Limits of the Earth: The Eternal Order.” World Futures 75, no. 5–6 (18 Agustus 2019): 298–323. https://doi.org/10.1080/02604027.2019.1591812.
Csemáné, Váradi Erika, Ilona Görgényi, József Gula, Tibor Horváth, Judit Jacsó, Miklós Lévay, dan Ferenc Sántha. Magyar Büntetőjog: Általános Rész. Budapest: Wolters Kluwer Kft., 2019. https://doi.org/10.55413/9789632956282.
Davis, Mark S. “Crimes Mala in Se: An Equity-Based Definition.” Criminal Justice Policy Review 17, no. 3 (September 2006): 270–89. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403405281962.
Dimock, Susan. “The Malum Prohibitum: Malum in Se Distinction and the Wrongfulness Constraint on Criminalization.” Dialogue 55, no. 1 (Maret 2016): 9–32. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0012217316000275.
Duff, R A. “A Criminal Law We Can Call Our Own?” Northwestern University Law Review 111, no. 6 (2017): 1491–1506.
Ervin, Belovics, Molnár Gábor Miklós, dan Sinku Pál. Büntetőjog II. Különös Rész: Kilencedik, Hatályosított Kiadás. Budapest: Orac Kiado, 2023. https://orac.hu/buntetojog_ii_kulonos_resz.
Eurojust. Report on Eurojust’s Casework on Environmental Crime. The Netherlands: Report on Eurojust’s Casework on Environmental Crime, 2021. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2812/780655.
European Commission. “Evaluation of the Directive 2008/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law (Environmental Crime and Directive).” Brussels: Council of the European Union, 28 Oktober 2020. https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2021-12/environmental_crime_evaluation_report.pdf.
———. “Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law and Replacing Directive 2008/99/EC.” Brussels, 15 Desember 2021. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:52021PC0851.
European Committee on Crime Problems (CDPC). “Feasibility Study on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law.” Strasbourg: Conseil de l’Europe, 15 Juni 2022. http://www.coe.int/cdpc.
European Parliament and Council. “Directive (EU) 2024/1203 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law and Replacing Directives 2008/99/EC and 2009/123/EC.” Brussels: Official Journal of the European Union, 30 April 2024. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=OJ:L_202401203&qid=1728291003951.
Fischer, Anke. “On the Role of Ideas of Human Nature in Shaping Attitudes Towards Environmental Governance.” Human Ecology 38, no. 1 (Februari 2010): 123–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-009-9281-y.
Fischman, Joshua B. “Reuniting ‘Is’ and ‘Ought’ in Empirical Legal Scholarship.” University of Pennsylvania Law Review 117, no. Northwestern Public Law Research Paper No. 14-15 16 December 2013. https://scholarship.law.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=penn_law_review.
Gaál, Ferenc. “Hungary’s Big Bet on Batteries — and Its Costs.” dw.com, 31 Maret 2023. https://www.dw.com/en/hungarys-big-bet-on-batteries-and-its-costs/a-65193569.
Gellér, Balázs József. Legality on Trial: A Theoretical Analysis of the Legality of Substantive Criminal Norms. Elte Jogi Kari Tudomány 17. Budapest: Eövtvös University Press, 2012.
Gönczöl, Katalin. “Developing Humane Criminal Justice Systems in Democratic Societies: An Update from Hungary.” Probation Journal 52, no. 2 (Juni 2005): 181–86. https://doi.org/10.1177/0264550505052687.
Government of Hungary. “Decree of the Government of Hungary, Nr. 432/2023. (IX. 21.).” Budapest, 21 Oktober 2023.
Green, Stuart P. “The Conceptual Utility of Malum Prohibitum.” Dialogue 55, no. 1 (Maret 2016): 33–43. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0012217315000025.
Herlin-Karnell, Ester. The Constitutional Dimension of European Criminal Law. Hart Publishing, 2012. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781472566041.
Horder, Jeremy. Ashworth’s Principles of Criminal Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1093/he/9780192897381.001.0001.
Horváth, Gergely. “The Renewed Constitutional Level of Environmental Law in Hungary.” Acta Juridica Hungarica 56, no. 4 (Desember 2015): 302–16. https://doi.org/10.1556/026.2015.56.4.5.
Ignatova, Milena. “Criminal Law Policy of the EU Countries in the Field of Combating Environmental Crimes.” Sociopolitical sciences 10, no. 6 (28 Desember 2020): 42–48. https://doi.org/10.33693/2223-0092-2020-10-6-42-48.
Karsai, Krisztina, dan Liane Wörner. “European Union and Council of Europe: Special Focus on Criminal Law.” Dalam The Cambridge Companion to European Criminal Law, disunting oleh Kai Ambos dan Peter Rackow, 1 ed., 3–29. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108891875.003.
Kelly, Petra. K. “The Need for Eco-Justice.” The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs 14, no. 2 (1990): 327–31.
Kerekes, Sandor, dan Miklos Bulla. “Environmental Management in Hungary.” Environmental Impact Assessment Review 14, no. 2–3 (Maret 1994): 95–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/0195-9255(94)90027-2.
Krisztina, Karsai. “Európai Büntetőjog” in Jakab András – Könczöl Miklós – Menyhárd Attila Sulyok Gábor (Szerk.): Internetes Jogtudományi Enciklopédia.” Disunting oleh Zsolt Szomora. Belügyi Szemle 68, no. 1 (2023): 1–17.
Mészáros, Ádám. A Bűncselekmény Fogalmának Alapkérdései: A Bűncselekmény Fogalma És Csoportosítása A Magyar Büntetőjogban. Budapest: Országos Kriminológiai Intézet, 2020. https://www.okri.hu/images/stories/konyvajanlo/2020/Meszaros/Mesz_A_web_sec.pdf.
Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty. Canada: Batoche Books Limited, 2001. https://www.studocu.com/en-ca/document/university-of-winnipeg/government-policy-towards-business/mill-on-liberty-complete-highlighted/58682307.
Molnár, Tamás. “Impressions on the Role of Environmental Criminal Law in Present Day Society.” Belügyi Szemle 71, no. 2.ksz. (28 April 2023): 93–103. https://doi.org/10.38146/BSZ.SPEC.2023.2.6.
Mršić, Gordana. “Environmental Protection from the Aspect of Criminal Law.” Intereulaweast: Journal for the International and European Law, Economics and Market Integrations 8, no. 1 (2021): 129–51. https://doi.org/10.22598/iele.2021.8.1.7.
Paiusco, Sara. Nullum Crimen Sine Lege, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Foreseeability of the Law. 1 ed. Vol. 55. Schriften zum Internationalen und Europäischen Strafrecht. Baden: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, 2021. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748922766.
Petersen, Felix. “Montesquieu and the Concept of the Non-Arbitrary State.” The European Legacy 28, no. 1 (2 Januari 2023): 25–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/10848770.2022.2106638.
Pink, Stephen, dan Joel Feinberg. “Social Philosophy.” The Philosophical Review 84, no. 2 (April 1975): 306. https://doi.org/10.2307/2183986.
Secondat, Charles Louis de, dan Baron de Montesquieu. Complete Works: The Spirit of Laws. Vol. 1. London: Liberty Fund, Inc., 1777. http://oll.libertyfund.org/title/837.
Trubowitz, Alexander. “Montesquieu’s Gentle Prince: The Law of Majesty and the Moderation of Despotism in the Spirit of the Laws.” History of European Ideas 44, no. 2 (17 Februari 2018): 194–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/01916599.2017.1393764.
Tsebelis, George, Christian B. Jensen, Anastassios Kalandrakis, dan Amie Kreppel. “Legislative Procedures in the European Union: An Empirical Analysis.” British Journal of Political Science 31, no. 04 (Oktober 2001). https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123401000229.
Valentini, Vico. “Continental Criminal Law and European Human Rights Law: A Complicated Relationship.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2013. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2352955.
White, Rob. Environmental Harm: An Eco-Justice Perspective. 1 ed. Bristol University Press, 2013. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt9qgsq7.
White, Robe. Climate Change Criminology. New Horizons in Criminology. Bristol Chicago: Bristol University Press, 2020.
Wolfe, Nancy Travis. “Mala In Se: A Disappearing Doctrine?” Criminology 19, no. 1 (Mei 1981): 131–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-9125.1981.tb00407.x.
Zachar, Zalán. “A Környezetkárosítás-Bűncselekmény Kriminálstatisztikai Mutatói És Az Elkövetők Szociálgeográfiai Vizsgálata.” Belügyi Szemle 68, no. 1 (15 Januari 2020): 33–51. https://doi.org/10.38146/BSZ.2020.1.2.