Criminal Sanctions On The Environmental Crimes In Our Country Under Risk Society

Confronted with the environmental risk that may threat our survival, people haveembraced with a sense of danger that they have never experienced in the past time. Inorder to cope with the environmental risk under risk society and in response topeople’s strong appeal for safe and security, the criminal law should transfer its corefrom revenge afterwards to protection in advance, and use the criminal penalty aheadof harmful consequences as a way to protect the environmental interest better. Thus,the dissertation analyses and demonstrates the theoretical innovation of environmentalcriminal law in the perspective of the risk criminal law.Based on the risk society theory, the dissertation introduces the rise of the riskcriminal law theory and explains the core point of risk criminal law theory, which isthe criminal penalty ahead of harmful consequences and the positive generalprotection. Meanwhile, the dissertation combs through the current legislationprinciple of environmental criminal law and the legislation status of differentcountries, and defines the concept and characteristics of environmental crimes.Although many countries have continuously strengthened their criminal regulationson environmental crimes under the risk society, we could still discover the outbreaksof environmental crisis. This requires our profound consideration.The second part of the dissertation deeply analyses the dilemma that thetraditional environmental criminal law faced with, and demonstrates the necessity oftheoretical breakthrough and the transition of concept. With the development of oursociety, new types of environmental crimes are emerging, and it’s very difficult for thetraditional environmental criminal law to deal with these cases. Therefore, the authorasserts that the environmental criminal law should change the concept and confirm theprotection of environmental interest. If only we apply to the risk criminal law and dopositive general protection through the setup of abstract danger offence forenvironmental crimes, could we protect the environmental interest better.Subsequently, based on the risk criminal law, the author discusses anddemonstrates the theoretical innovation of environmental criminal law. The author mainly explains the fairy reason for the theory, and points out that the primarycomponents of this theory are the functionalized theory of violating legal interest andthe revised theory of conduct without value. And on this basis, the dissertationdemonstrates the rationale of protecting legal interest ahead of harm consequences,introduces the ways of realizing the protection of legal interest ahead of harmconsequences, and mainly analyses the necessity of abstract danger offence.On the basis of the environmental criminal law theory advocated by the author inthe perspective of risk criminal law, the fourth part of the dissertation analyses theproblems existing in our country’s current legislation of environmental criminal law,and puts forward the specific suggestion on the improvements: Firstly, theimprovement on the legislative mode, advocate the establishment of environmentalcrimes as a special chapter and set up the abstract danger offence; Secondly, theestablishment of the applicable principle of penalty, besides of the principle ofconsequential aggregation and dual punishment, advocate the restricted application ofthe principle of strict liability and presumption of causation; Finally, the improvementon the setting of penalty, advocate the increasing use of fine, set up new qualificationpunishment and non-penalty measures.