Carole M. Billiet, Thomas Blondiau & Sandra Rousseau. Punishing environmental crimes : an empirical study from lower courts to the Court of Appeal, Regulation & Governance 2014(8), 472-496
The paper analyses judicial policy lines concerning the punishment of environmental crime using a unique European dataset of individual criminal cases, including case-specific information on offences and offenders. The authors investigate policy choices made by lower criminal courts as well as their follow-up by the relevant court of appeal. The sanctioning policy of the courts proofs to be varied as well as consistent. Judges carefully balance effective and suspended penalties, most often using them cumulatively, but in specific cases opting to use the as substitutes. Overall, both judges in lower and appeal courts balance environmental law and classic criminal law and aim at protecting individuals and their possessions as well as the environment.
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