Criminal liability of legal persons in the light of the new Croatian environmental criminal law

Abstract

The author of this paper investigates the content and dynamics of the change of criminal liability of legal persons for criminal offenses and the characteristics of the regulation of environmental crimes in Chapter XX of the "new" of the Criminal Code. The author refers to the initial coherency and the importance of environmental crimes in regulating the liability of legal persons for criminal offenses and recalls that when defining the scope of legal protection of the environment, two basic features of criminal law - subsidiarity and fragmentation, should not be neglected, criminal law appears as ultima ratio. The author emphasizes the need to invest a lot of effort so that Croatian modern criminal legislation does not remain only a framework, but become a powerful instrument of the struggle for effective protection of the environment. To achieve this goal continuing education, as well as political support is needed.

Keywords

• crimes against the environment
• the criminal liability of legal persons
• offenses of endangering
• effective remorse
• punishment