Punishment And Prevention Of International Environmental Crime: Status, Problems And Strategies

With the rapid development of world economy, the process of urbanization and industrialization is being quickened, and the destruction to the environmental resources by human beings is more and more serious as well. Since the 20th century, the exploitation of environmental resources has been in disorder and the trans-boundary international environmental crime concealed in the economic exchanges between countries is emerging, which indicates a worsening tendency. It might be said that environmental crime is becoming a serious international issue. As a result, the strike, punishment and prevention of such crime become an important question for study for the international community. From the perspective of criminology, this thesis attempts to summarize problems existed in the strike of environmental crime by the international community, based on the analysis of the present conditions of environmental crime, of the present situation on legislation and lf the practice lf striking and punishing environmental crime, and then to propose advices and tactics. This thesis is divided into three chapters. The first chapter will set up on the status of environmental crime. The features of such crime are illustrated from the phenomenon, the legislations of different countries and the practice of the legislations, which leads us to realize the serious situation of environmental crime faced by the international community. It is the common problem internationally that the environmental crime demonstrates a variety and difference, which not only does harm to the living environment of human beings, but also threats international peace and security, civilization and development, and which goes against the principle of sustainable development of international law. The worsening and being international tendency of environmental crime has already been challenging the international community and there is no argument among different countries and the international community that it is an international crime to commit the crime of polluting and destroying the environment. In order to defend human beings, environmental rights, living rights and development rights from being encroached on, governments of different countries, especially of western industrialized countries, begin to control environmental crime by criminal laws, using different legislation rules to formulate the clauses of punishing environmental crime. It might be said that the initiation of criminal legislation of individual countries prepares the establishment of international environmental crime legislation by supplying references. The initiation makes contribution to the protection of the world environment as well. In practice, different countries have established environment protection organizations, which strengthen the centralized watch and control of the ecological and biological resources. Besides the action of countries, different countries also unite to set the common goal of keeping the environment from being worse by signing international treaties. In addition, the conclusion of regional law files and agreements is also one of the indispensable means to protect the environment and to prevent the happening of those harmful actions towards the environment. The consider revising of regional law files and agreements, together with international treaties, forms the basis of law foundations and co operations of protecting the world environment and restraining environmental crime. From the ultra-state perspective, on the other hands, much attention hasbeen given by United Nations organization, Association of International criminology, European Council and United Nations Environment Program. It is justified that the United Nations has been trying its best to strike environmental crime and strengthen the international protection of the environmental rights. Nevertheless, great difficulty still threatens the specific practice. Chapter two is dedicated to the analysis of problems existing in striking and preventing international environmental crime. The first problem is that an uniformed, authorized definition and international treaty has not come up yet so far. The concept of international environmental crime has always been in heated discussion by scholars, home and abroad, and a comprehensive and widely-accepted definition has not been formed yet. Therefore the convention which may control environmental crime cannot be formulated as a result, and in turn the international cooperation basis to control international environmental crime has been greatly weakened. The second problem is that the cooperation process between countries is influenced by many negative factors, such as the intensive fights for rights and interests between developed and developing countries, the unequal, unfair and unreasonable relationship between the two groups, and so on. Concerned with their own interests, developed countries put emphasis only on the importance of protecting environment rights, whereas they are reluctant to cooperate internationally. The stand held by the developed countries is in root against developing countries, which does not accord with the interests of developing countries. In addition, despite the international treaties, some countries just ignore the treaties and act according to their own interests, such as transporting illegallydangerous wastes or other wastes to developing countries, which causes great damage to the environment rights of the developing countries. The third problems is that, cited as an example, the different law regions of China do not regulate the agreement which targets at cross-regional environmental crime, and some criminals can therefore escape strike and punishment by making use of the jurisdiction conflicts between different law regions. Therefore, the cooperation between regions still needs improving in order to play a greater part in controlling environmental crime. Several strategies and advices are proposed in the third chapter towards the existing problems. Proposal one is to establish an uniformed international convention counter-acting the international environmental crime and to urge different countries and the international community to reach consensus in concept about whether a nation can act as a subject to counteract international environmental crime and how will a nation undertake the criminal responsibility. In view of the immaturity of establishing an international environmental crime convention at the moment, the specific regulations about crimes could be formed first, which will perfect the international environmental crime convention step by step. Proposal two is to exert the influence of ultra-state organizations. Some international organizations may transport the environmental information collected and arranged by them to the whole world through internet. And international environmental organizations can also be established, such as International Environment Court and the jurisdiction coverage of ICC can also be widened. To bring the "soft law"into effect. The particular hardness of "soft law"enables it to be in law effects. Considering the fact that an agreed international environmental crimeconvention has not been formed, it might be feasible to form a "soft law"and the promised obligations of signatory countries could be promoted to criminal norms. Proposal three is to improve the national legislation of different countries and to strengthen the criminal jurisdiction assistance. Following concerned United Nations conclusions and conventions, different countries should revise and improve their own national legislations concerning environmental crime and try to reduce the differences between the criminal legislation of the countries. In the meantime, international legal assistance in criminal natters should be established and strengthened and the divergence in the cooperation of international criminal jurisdiction should be reduced as much as possible. Proposal four is to revise and improve the national legislation of China. First, the legislative protection for environment rights should be established and environment rights should be included in the Constitution, which will provide a solid basis for the establishment of legislation concerning environmental crime. Second, the inadequacy of the national Constitution concerning the punishment of environmental crime should be improves, such as widening the environment protection coverage of criminal law, prescribing the concept of potentials in the national criminal law of environmental crime, referring to the experiences in foreign legislations, fixing a variety of punishment means, improving the legislative patterns about environmental crime at the moment, stabilizing the criminal law for a long time, and so on. By such ways, the effect of prediction, guidance and intimidation of the criminal law will be exerted to the full. Environmental problems are the important matter that the human society has to deal with and the crime that does harm to the international environment...