Criminal offenses against the environment: proportionality in the context of the approximation of acts of the European Union

The article examines the peculiarities of proportionality and subsidiarity in the context of the approximation of the acts of the acquis communautaire of the European Union (EU) in terms of criminal offenses against the environment. It has been established that Directive (EU) 2024/1203 of the European Parliament and the Council on the protection of the environment by means of criminal law of April 11, 2024 changed the approaches to responsibility for criminal offenses against the environment. It was found that the main innovation is the need to criminalize some actions against the environment, which are committed not only intentionally, but also due to carelessness. In Art. 3 of the Directive provides a list of acts that can be committed in the form of gross negligence. It was established that Directive (EU) 2024/1203 supports a broad approach to the concept of the victim not only as a natural or legal person, but also society as a whole and the environment. It is argued that the means of responding to criminal offenses should be proportionate, taking into account the interests of all subjects of criminal legal relations, that is, the victim, the person who committed the criminal offense, society as a whole, the state, as well as the environment (taking into account the specifics of these criminal offenses). It is substantiated that the development of a mechanism for the representation of the environment by interested public organizations in criminal proceedings could be an effective means of environmental protection. Defects of proposals to supplement the Criminal Code with articles on responsibility for storing wood, disproportionality of the means of influence on persons who commit relevant acts, risks of abuse by law enforcement agencies, corruption component, and the possibility of prosecuting people who are engaged in harvesting wood for heating their own houses, and not wood sales operators (as provided for in the relevant EU Regulation). It is substantiated that for the approximation of European legislation, a systematic understanding of European law and the context of the adoption of relevant norms and compliance with the principles of legal certainty, predictability, proportionality, presumption of innocence, subsidiarity, etc. is important.