Romanian illegal logging leads to specialised prosecution office for environmental crimes
On 16 June 2020, the Romanian Senate adopted Draft Law no. 121/2020 for the organisation and operation of the Directorate for Investigating Environmental Crimes (DIIM).
The sponsors of this Draft Law state that the creation of DIIM is of paramount importance considering that over the last five years only 3,014 criminal files had been sent to trial for actions incriminated by the Forest Code with only one conviction (in 2019), although more than 20 million cubic metres of woodland have gone missing without a trace.
During the same period, the criminal investigation authorities did not investigate a single environmental crime.
A member of the Legal Committee within the Romanian Parliament stated that environmental crimes are the fourth worst category of crimes committed after trafficking of humans, weapons and drugs, with the vast majority of environment cases being "lost" through bureaucratic hassle, agreements between certain policy makers and private companies, and the inefficiency of existing institutions.
According to the Draft Law, the DIIM shall operate within the Prosecutors’ Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice (PICCJ) and shall specialise in combating environmental crimes. The DIIM will thus become the third specialised directorate within PICCJ, after the well-known National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA) and the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT). In addition, the DIIM shall receive the same minimum budget as the DNA and the DIICOT: at least RON 2,000,000 (EUR 417,000) for organising actions, identifying flagrant crimes or employing undercover investigators, informants or cooperative witnesses.
The DIIM shall investigate most environmental crimes, including crimes listed in the Forest Code, crimes related to environmental protection, air quality, pollution of water resources, and waste management. The DIIM shall take over all pending cases that are currently under investigation by other prosecution offices within five days after the Draft Law enters into force.
The prosecutors and investigators within the new office shall be appointed based on their experience with environmental crimes and shall specialise in specific domains: water, air and soil quality; forest management; waste management; and industrial emissions in environmental-related sectors and IT.
On 22 June 2020, the Senate sent the Draft Law to the Romanian President for promulgation. The Draft Law will enter into force three days after its publication in the Official Gazette.
For more information on this Draft Law, environmental protection regulations, or general advice on criminal defence issues in Romania, contact your regular CMS advisor or local CMS experts Mihai Jiganie-Serban, Anca Elena Ion and Cosmin Cretu.
