Court confirms EU right to criminalise pollution at sea

The Commission has the right to force member states to introduce criminal penalties for instances of maritime pollution such as the discharge of oil and other noxious substances from ships in EU waters. However, it does not have the power to fix the type and level of these penalties, stated a Europan Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling on 23 October.

The ECJ ruling has consequences for a February 2007 Directive proposal that would allow the EU to impose criminal sanctions, including sentences of up to ten years in prison and fines of over one million euros, in instances of environmental offences.

Even though the ECJ ruling supports the Commission proposal, it also stated that it does not have the authority to lay down the type and level of criminal penalty, which is left to the discretion of member states.

However, the situation might change with the adoption of the new EU Treaty, as it includes provisions that empower the EU to define criminal offences and sanctions when they are necessary for the implementation of one of its policies, which is the case for maritime pollution as a part of EU transport policy.

The ECJ ruling follows a complaint filed by the Commisison against a 2005 Council decision. The Commission disputed the Council’s priveleges on EU law, arguing that criminal penalties regarding pollution from ships come within the Community’s sphere of competence and involve all three EU institutions – the Commission, Parliament and Council.

The ruling comes after a similar 2005 legal affair which lead to the cancellation of a Council framework decision on environmental crime, allowing the Commission to strengthen its legislative proposal by introducing criminal sanctions for breaches of EU law (EURACTIV 13/09/05).

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