Criminal liability based on European Regulations for ship recycling in South Asia

In December 2021, the European Commission published a (new) Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law and replacing Directive 2008/99/EC. The Commission specifically mentioned illegal ship recycling as one of the areas in need of more decisive enforcement. The new directive, therefore, will require criminal sanctions for illegal ship recycling. This begs the question at which point legal ship recycling becomes illegal ship recycling, when ship recycling can lead to criminal liability under the European legal framework. The author analyses both the Waste Shipment Regulation and the Ship Recycling Regulation to answer this question. It is concluded both regulations can easily be avoided, hampering effective enforcement.

Lees verder:

• Criminal liability based on European Regulations for ship recycling in South Asia: dead in the water? door Erik M. Witjens in The journal of international maritime law