Environmental Criminal Law in Italy

This article describes and analyses current Italian environmental criminal law, as (limitedly) shaped by the transposition of Directive 2008/99/EC on the protection of the environment through criminal law as well as by subsequent legislative developments. Procedural provisions, actors and institutions relevant to the implementation of environmental criminal law are also addressed, as are sanctions for environmental crimes in practice. The article assesses whether the current legislative framework provides effective protection to the environment as a protected legal interest.