1 / 11

ENVIRONMENTAL CIVIL PENALTIES

ENVIRONMENTAL CIVIL PENALTIES. A More Proportionate Response to Regulatory Breach. Michael Woods Senior Associate Stephenson Harwood michael.woods@shlegal.com www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/environment/civil-penalty/. What is a Civil Penalty?. The traditional civil/criminal distinction

hawa
Download Presentation

ENVIRONMENTAL CIVIL PENALTIES

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. ENVIRONMENTALCIVIL PENALTIES A More Proportionate Response to Regulatory Breach Michael Woods Senior Associate Stephenson Harwood michael.woods@shlegal.com www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/environment/civil-penalty/

  2. What is a Civil Penalty? • The traditional civil/criminal distinction • Crime and punishment • “A middle system of law” • What it is not... A discretionary monetary sum, imposed flexibly under civil law, achieving deterrence and reparation Civil Penalty

  3. Regulatory Difficulties Current Compliance through discretion and consensus, but… Over-reliance on criminal prosecution and strict liability Trivialisation of offences and inadequate fines Regulator reluctance to enforce? Optimal A more proportionate and responsive approach to regulation

  4. Current Use of Civil Penalties Abroad • “Second order violations” • Benefits recapture • BEN and SEPs • “Inflation” of the criminal law • Ordnungswidrigkeiten • The Öztürk case Germany USA

  5. Current Use of Civil Penalties in the UK • Variety of models – growing interest • Limitations of fixed penalties – inflexible • OFT – CA 1988 and CAT • Human Rights – Article 6 “criminal charges”

  6. Benefits from Environmental Civil Penalties • Preserves the value of the criminal law • Relieves pressure on regulators’ resources • Improved understanding and compliance • Ability to target financial gains and losses • Addresses increased public expectations Greater Flexibility Better match between the sanction and moral/financial costs of the offence,leading to improved compliance Result

  7. A Possible Model Who? • Environment Agency What? • IPPC, waste and water How? • Discretion • Appeals When? • Initial limited use • Later review and extension

  8. Report Conclusion • Current system: room for improvement • Experience of civil penalties: pragmatic and effective • Regulators and regulated: potentially favourable Outcome Better regulation and a better environment

  9. Reactions • Environment Agency • Environmental Audit Committee • Government (BRTF) • Defra • Hampton Report • New legislation - Clean Neighbourhoods and Water Industry UKELA? Model? Industry/NGO/public feedback? Lobbying?

  10. Issues for Discussion • Regulatory fit –alternative or replacement? • Type of offences –low-level and/or high level? • Which regulator(s) – EA, EN, local authorities • Assessing penalty – standard tariff and/or discretionary factors? • Limits on discretion – statutory cap? not > criminal fine? • Means of appeal – Magistrates, SoS, ET? plus limited JR? • Which parties liable – companies, individuals, directors? • Resources – additional funding and/or hypothecation? Consensus? On the principle? On the detail?

  11. ENVIRONMENTALCIVIL PENALTIES A More Proportionate Response to Regulatory Breach Michael Woods Senior Associate Stephenson Harwood michael.woods@shlegal.com www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/environment/civil-penalty/

More Related