{"id":8244,"date":"2022-01-12T08:13:33","date_gmt":"2022-01-12T08:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.strafrecht.de\/environmental-criminal-law\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T14:31:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T12:31:30","slug":"environmental-criminal-law","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.strafrecht.de\/en\/environmental-criminal-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Environmental criminal law"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"8244\" class=\"elementor elementor-8244 elementor-7906\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-70ba194 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"70ba194\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-ae069a2\" data-id=\"ae069a2\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fb7a4ac elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"fb7a4ac\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1580\" height=\"780\" src=\"https:\/\/www.strafrecht.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2023_crf_WUP_9170_LoRes-1580x780.jpg\" class=\"attachment-landscape-2 size-landscape-2 wp-image-13095\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-41122b6\" data-id=\"41122b6\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9b60cd5 elementor-hidden-mobile elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"9b60cd5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1580\" height=\"780\" src=\"https:\/\/www.strafrecht.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/2021_WUP_Website_1375_1580x780-1580x780.jpg\" class=\"attachment-landscape-2 size-landscape-2 wp-image-5419\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.strafrecht.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/2021_WUP_Website_1375_1580x780.jpg 1580w, https:\/\/www.strafrecht.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/2021_WUP_Website_1375_1580x780-300x148.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.strafrecht.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/2021_WUP_Website_1375_1580x780-1024x506.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.strafrecht.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/2021_WUP_Website_1375_1580x780-768x379.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.strafrecht.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/2021_WUP_Website_1375_1580x780-1536x758.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1580px) 100vw, 1580px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-38230dc elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"38230dc\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-66 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-55a6342\" data-id=\"55a6342\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-93c7a88 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"93c7a88\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Environmental protection has taken the center stage of public awareness for many years. People have increasingly become conscious of the need to protect the environment. As a result, violations of environmental protection regulations are being reported more frequently and punished more severely.<\/p>\n<p>The criminal code already provides for severe penalties for a number of environment-related offences. In some cases, perpetrators against the environment even face prison terms of up to ten years. In addition, numerous subsidiary laws like provide for penalties if offences related to the environment are detected.<\/p>\n<h5>Companies in the pillory<\/h5>\n<p>If the police and the public prosecutor&#8217;s office investigate a suspected environmental offence, the entire company is often discredited, even before the persons that are actually responsible can be identified. The management finds itself exposed to at least a fine for an administrative offence, and \u2013 if not in the pillory themselves \u2013 is challenged to get to the bottom of the matter internally. Given the public sensitivity to the issue of the environment, the reputational damage that comes with a violation of environmental criminal law that has become public can be extraordinary.<\/p>\n<h5>Accusations against public officials<\/h5>\n<p>Criminal law risks also apply to public officials in environmental authorities if, for example, they negligently or even intentionally violate their duties in the context of approval procedures. Of practical relevance here is the failure to act, for example, if unlawfully granted permits for environmentally hazardous installations are not withdrawn or if the authority does not intervene in cases of offences against the environment. Sometimes there are also accusations of accepting unlawful advantages or bribery.<\/p>\n<p>Our work in environmental criminal law starts with compliance-related advice; we point out the risks in environmental criminal law to the management and help them to take appropriate precautions to ensure that risks do not realise. We represent companies and company representatives in investigative and criminal proceedings and, last but not least, take on the defence of accused individuals.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008bec;\">Typical topics:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Air pollution<\/li>\n<li>Water and soil pollution<\/li>\n<li>Improper waste disposal<\/li>\n<li>Unauthorised operation of facilities<\/li>\n<li>Hazard to areas in need of protection<\/li>\n<li>Serious hazards due to the release of toxins<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #008bec;\">They can count on us:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Industrial companies<\/li>\n<li>Operators of waste disposal companies<\/li>\n<li>Local authorities and their officials<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-33 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-fe3d9f4\" data-id=\"fe3d9f4\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ea20497 elementor-grid-1 elementor-posts--thumbnail-top elementor-grid-tablet-2 elementor-grid-mobile-1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-posts\" data-id=\"ea20497\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;custom_columns&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;custom_row_gap&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:0,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;custom_columns_tablet&quot;:&quot;2&quot;,&quot;custom_columns_mobile&quot;:&quot;1&quot;,&quot;custom_row_gap_tablet&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;custom_row_gap_mobile&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]}}\" data-widget_type=\"posts.custom\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t      <div class=\"ecs-posts elementor-posts-container elementor-posts   elementor-grid elementor-posts--skin-custom\" data-settings=\"{&quot;current_page&quot;:1,&quot;max_num_pages&quot;:0,&quot;load_method&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;widget_id&quot;:&quot;ea20497&quot;,&quot;post_id&quot;:8244,&quot;theme_id&quot;:8244,&quot;change_url&quot;:false,&quot;reinit_js&quot;:false}\">\n      <div class=\"elementor-posts-nothing-found\"><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Environmental protection has taken the center stage of public awareness for many years. People have increasingly become conscious of the need to protect the environment. As a result, violations of environmental protection regulations are being reported more frequently and punished more severely. The criminal code already provides for severe penalties for a number of environment-related [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8244","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Environmental criminal law - Wessing &amp; Partner<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.strafrecht.de\/en\/environmental-criminal-law\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Environmental criminal law\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Environmental protection has taken the center stage of public awareness for many years. 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