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19 apr 2023
Wouter Haelewyn
Public Prosecutor at the Kortrijk Court of First Instance (Belgium)
00 32 (0)56 269 366
Criminal offence policy with respect to
combating environmental offences in
Belgium – Durbuy, 25 May 2011
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2 Criminal offence policy with respect to combating environmental offences in Belgium
criminal enforcement of environmental law in Belgium and Flanders
• 1. The evolution of judicial cooperation of public prosecutors in environmental law in Belgium and Flanders
• 2. The relationship between administrative and criminal treatment of environmental offences in Flanders
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1. Evolution of judicial cooperation of public prosecutors in
environmental law in B. and Fl.
• 10 reasons for specialisation and cooperation of public prosecutors in environmental law in Belgium;
• Evolution of judicial system in Belgium and Flanders;
• 3 considerations;
Criminal offence policy with respect to combating environmental offences in Belgium
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Why specialisation and cooperation?
1. Legislation complex and in a very fast evolution;
2. A lot of small public prosecutor’s departments (e.g. 5 to 10 Public Prosecutors);
3. Overcharged public prosecutor’s offices;
4. Different prosecution politics;
5. Difficult to find public prosecutors who want to specialise in environmental law;
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Why specialisation and cooperation?
6. Difficult to engage lawyers who are specialised in environmental law;
7. Flow of public prosecutors;8. Specialised lawyers;9. Inspections and administrations are also
organised on a higher level;10. Up scaling = less chances of being
prepossessed by local offenders
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1. Evolution of judicial cooperation of public prosecutors in
environmental law in B. and Fl.
• 10 reasons for specialisation and cooperation of public prosecutors in environmental law in Belgium;
• Evolution of judicial system in Belgium and Flanders;
• 3 considerations;
Criminal offence policy with respect to combating environmental offences in Belgium
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Situation from 1830 until 1980
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Situation from august 1980
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Situation from 1980 until 2007
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November 19th 2007: cooperation agreement Kortrijk-Ieper
• Ieper: food safety and human health
• Kortrijk: environmental law and urbanisation;
• Starting point: January 1, 2008
• Not including: “illegal dumping of domestic waste” and other “small, local” dossiers
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Situation from 2007 until end 2009
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December 14th 2009: PSV
• Cooperation between 4 and 3 public prosecutors in 2 different province’s;
• Matters “West-Flanders”:– Food safety and human health (Ypres)– IT-crimes and counterfeit (Veurne)– Human trafficking and human smuggling (Bruges)– Environmental law, urbanisation, animal welfare and
quality of housing (Kortrijk)
• Implementation in 2 times: November, 1st 2010 and October, 1st 2011
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Erelong situation
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Ideal situation
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Considerations
• Not the finish, but just a step to better prosecution of ECO-crime!!
• Cooperation of tribunals and judges??
• Next step: working group of Flemish environmental prosecutors
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2. The relationship between administrative and criminal treatment of environmental offences in Flanders
• May 2009: new Flemish environmental legislation (Decree);
• exclusive administrative fines for so-called “environmental infringements” (milieu-inbreuken)
• alternative administrative fines for so-called “environmental criminal offences”
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• “Environmental criminal offences”: only the public prosecutor has the right to decide;
• has the competence to forward his dossiers to the administrative authority within 180/360 days;
• the choice for one or the other proceedings is objectified an official document, called “sorting paper”;
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thirteen categories of dossiers that can not be transferred to the administrative authority to impose an alternative administrative fine:
(…)4. files where there is no (environmental) license at all, without (a
beginning of) regularization;5. files relating to the illegal management or abandonment of
hazardous waste or large quantities of waste, without (a beginning of) regularization;
6. files relating to significant damage to natural elements (protected fauna and/or species, ecosystems, forests, ...) without (a beginning of) regularization;
7. files with repeated or serious annoyance (presence of victims);
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4. files where there is no (environmental) license at all, without (a beginning of) regularization;
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5. files relating to the illegal management or dumping of hazardous waste or large quantities of waste, without (a
beginning of) regularization;
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7. files with repeated or serious annoyance (presence of victims);
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6. files relating to significant damage to natural elements (protected fauna and/or species, ecosystems, forests, ...)
without (a beginning of) regularization;
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Thank you for your attention!!
