On 14th of May 2025, the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers has adopted the Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law, establishing the first international treaty of its kind to criminalize serious environmental harm and strengthen enforcement mechanisms across its member States. This Convention is set to provide a more coherent criminal justice response by states to environmental crime, both nationally and internationally.
The Convention, approved by the Committee of Ministers, aims to bolster environmental protection by effectively preventing and combating environmental crime; promoting and enhancing national and international co-operation against environmental crime; and by establishing minimum rules to guide States in their national criminal laws. It introduces a comprehensive framework to prevent, investigate, prosecute, and punish environmental offences, while ensuring that human rights and the rule of law remain at the core of environmental governance.
Parties are obliged to implement National Strategies for preventing and combating environmental crime that will outline: the objectives and priorities of national policy in this area; the roles and responsibilities of the competent authorities; the resources needed and how specialisation of enforcement professionals will be supported; arrangements for regular evaluation of whether the objectives of such a national strategy are being attained; and the assistance of international networks that deal with matters directly relevant to preventing and combating offences established in accordance with this Convention and related infringements.
The Convention’s main role is to outline and establish criminal liability for a broad spectrum of environmental offences, granting States the authority to procesute for deliberate actions that lead to environmental degradation.
The Convention further regulates the matter of prevention, jurisdiction, liability of legal persons, and standing and protection of victims. It gives regulatory guidance for penalties, investigation, prosecution and procedural lawaspects.
The adoption of this Convention marks a significant milestone in strengthening legal protection for the environment through criminal law. It sends a clear message that serious environmental harm will no longer go unpunished and that States must act collectively to defend the planet.
Alongside the adoption of the new treaty, the Committee of Ministers approved a new long-term environmental strategy, designed to tackle the escalating environmental crisis by integrating human rights, democratic principles, and the rule of law into environmental governance.