Publications

Carole M. Billiet, Satellite images as evidence for environmental crime in Europe. A judges perspective, in R. Purdy (ed.), Earth observation and GPS: evidence and the law, Leiden – Boston, Brill, 2012, 24 p., forthcoming

This paper seeks to sketch the perspective of a judge, more specifically a judge who punishes, on the use of satellite images as evidence in environmental offences. My judge is a European judge, more particularly a Belgian judge. The perspective of a Belgian penalizing court is, in part, valid for courts of law that consider environmental crime cases elsewhere in Europe. One reason for this, among other, lies in the fact that certain aspects of evidence are enshrined in human rights conventions, in particular the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (Rome, 1950). First I explain why the use of satellite images as evidence for environmental offences and with a view to punishment, is no longer a matter that concerns only criminal courts and judges. The issue also has to be considered in the perspective of an administrative punishment. After that, I outline the legal theory behind the use of evidence with a view to punishment in both the criminal and the administrative penalization track. Subsequently I focus on environmental law enforcement. I investigate the potential of satellite images as evidence for environmental offences, identifying specific problems with the use of those images as regards certain types of commonly used standards (for instance emission and immission standards). I also evaluate the problems that could arise in the admission of satellite images as evidence in court and next examine the concrete assessment of this type of evidence by judges. I wind up with a conclusion.

Due to copyrights the article cannot be downloaded from this website.

Carmen Arguedas and Sandra Rousseau, Learning about compliance under asymmetric information, Resource and Energy Economics, 2012, vol. 34(1), 55-73

Over time, inspection agencies gather information about firms’ pollution levels and this information may allow agencies to differentiate their monitoring strategies in the future. If a firm is less successful than its peers in reducing emissions, it faces the risk of being targeted for increased inspections in the next period. This risk of stricter monitoring might induce high-abatement cost firms to mimic low-abatement cost firms by choosing lower emission levels, while the latter might try to avoid being mimicked. We explain firms’ compliance decisions and the inspection agency’s monitoring strategy by means of a signaling game which incorporates dynamic enforcement and learning. Interestingly, we show that the ongoing signaling game between firm types might lead to firms over-complying with the emission standard.

Due to copyrights the article cannot be downloaded from this website.

Roel Meeus, Een toekomst voor de transactie als sanctioneringsinstrument in het milieurecht? Lessen uit de praktijk in België en Nederland [A Future for the Transaction as a Sanctioning Instrument in Environmental Law? Lessons from Practice in Belgium and The Netherlands], Tijdschrift voor Milieurecht, 2011/4, 325-345

 This article analyzes the use in practice of the settlement or transaction as a sanctioning instrument for environmental offences. For that end existing and own empirical research concerning the use of transactions as a sanctioning instrument in both the criminal (Belgium) and administrative (Netherlands) enforcement tracks is used. We see that in both enforcement tracks the transaction as a sanctioning instrument shows more or less the same strengths and weaknesses. We also reflect about the future of this sanctioning instrument in the light of new or forthcoming criminal and administrative sanctions in Belgian and Dutch environmental enforcement law.

Carole M. Billiet, Formats for Law & economics in legal scholarship. Views and wishes from Europe, Illinois Law Review 2011/October, 1485 – 1516

This Article discusses the role of law and economics in Europe’s law schools, paying attention mainly to local law and economics efforts, as opposed to internationally visible research output and education. The goal is to provide a more complete picture of the importance of law and economics in European law schools, thus allowing for a more robust analysis of the challenges to a broader adoption of law and economics among European law faculties. The Article begins with an overview of law and economics in Europe at present. It proceeds to analyze incentives that currently exist – or could be created – which further the adoption of law and economics among law faculties yet orient the research output to a national audience. The Article then examines communication issues associated with local law and economics efforts that have an impact on the scope of study and use of law and economics in law schools and legal communities and offers suggestions regarding how to successfully overcome challenges raised by those issues. Ultimately, the Article concludes that, in Europe, the practice of law and economics by law faculties varies greatly between countries, that Europe’s internationally visible law and economics outputs do not give the full measure of its total law and economics production, and that, while there are several barriers to broaden adoption of law and economics among law faculties in Europe, these barriers are not insurmountable.

Click here (pdf, 311 KB) to view the full article.

Roel Meeus, De minnelijke schikking voor milieucriminaliteit na het Vlaamse milieuhandhavingsdecreet: tussen bestuurlijke beboeting en penale vervolging [The Transaction as a Sanctioning Instrument for Environmental Crime After the Flemish Environmental Enforcement Act: Between Administrative Fines and Criminal Prosecution], Tijdschrift voor Strafrecht, 2011/4, 244-257

This article analyzes the impact of the new Flemish Environmental Enforcement Act, introducing administrative fines for environmental offences, on the policy of public prosecutors in the criminal enforcement track regarding the use of transactions as a sanctioning instrument for environmental crime.

Carole M. Billiet, Amendes administratives à tarification fixe et contrôle du juge: la jurisprudence de la Cour constitutionnelle illustrée (note sous Cour d’appel de Bruxelles, 21ième Chambre, 15 septembre 2010) [Administrative Fines with Fixed Tariffs and Judicial Control: the Jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court Illustrated (note under Court of Appeal of Brussels, 21st Chambre, 15 September 2010)], Droit pénal de l’entreprise 2011/3, (253) 261 – 265

The judgment of the court of appeal of Brussels of 15 September 2010 is analyzed from the perspective of the case law of the Belgian Constitutional Court on the compatibility of administrative fining systems with the equality principle and discrimination prohibition. The last two decennia, this case law has been developing into an extensive and variegated whole where, in spite of the many and important differences between fining systems, which to some extent forbid generalizations, some clear-cut principles emerge. The judgment of the Court of Appeal holds a neat application of the requirements the Constitutional Court has with regard to the scope of the judicial control on the margins of administrative discretion.

Due to copyrights the article cannot be downloaded from this website.

Carole M. Billiet and Nicky Broeckhoven, De milieustrafrechter en toekomstbeveiliging: praktijkprofiel van het exploitatieverbod [The Environmental Criminal Courts and the Protection of the Future: Profile of the Use of the Cessation Order], Nullum Crimen 2011, 101 – 126

Since May the 1st 2009 article 16.6.5 of the Flemish Environmental Policy Act gives criminal courts judging environmental offences the competence to order the cessation of the operation of a plant for safety reasons. The aforementioned provision is a near to literal copy of article 39 §2 Flemish Environmental Permit Act, a provision that, in between its entry into force in September 1991 and its abrogation in May 2009, was applied for nearly two decades. The doctrine that has been studying the now abrogated competence is fairly scarce and does barely touch its use in practice. Analyzing the environmental crime case law in the years 2003-2006 (2007) from the judicial resort of the Court of Appeal in Gent (1034 first instance judgments and 122 appeal judgments), we check to what extent the cessation order has been applied in practice and identify problems and possibilities for improvement. The idea is to provide a support for the use of the actual competence and to formulate suggestions for a better legislative design in view of the legislative evaluation that will happen in May 2012. The study documents a number of interpretative issues and empirical facts not to little known previously. The safety measure appears to have been used in 5% of all cases but exclusively by the courts of first instance of Dendermonde and Gent (not Brugge, Ieper, Kortrijk, Oudenaarde en Veurne) and some subsequent appeal cases. For a legal application of the competence, mostly the requirement of an actual safety problem, a proper understanding of the hearing duty, and the formulation of the duration of the measure appear to need improvement. For an effective use of the safety measure, agreements between the prosecutor’s office and the bench regarding the backing of the measure by a penalty payment are most important.

Click here (pdf, 497 KB) to view the full article.

Carole M. Billiet and Sandra Rousseau, How real is the threat of imprisonment for environmental crime?, European Journal of Law and Economics 2011, 16 p., DOI 10.1007/s10657-011-9267-2

In this contribution, we investigate whether prison sentences for environmental crime are indeed used in practice, how they are used and whether they imply a real threat to violators. To this end we examine previous studies on the role of imprisonment and confront these models with some empirical data. The empirical application summarizes evidence from several countries, but focuses on detailed data for criminal prosecution of environmental legislation in Flanders (Belgium) between 2003 and 2007. Thus we are able to highlight some interesting policy issues and directions for future research.

Click here (pdf, 352 KB) to view the full article.

Carole M. Billiet, Thomas Blondiau and Sandra Rousseau, Milieucriminaliteit in het beleid van de strafrechter. Bestraffen tussen Haus en Brundtland [Environmental Crime in the Criminal Judge’s Policy. Punishing Between Haus and Brundtland], Rechtskundig Weekblad, 2010-2011, 898 – 931

In Belgium and Europe there exists a growing tendency to organize environmental law sanctioning within a two-track model that combines penal and administrative sanctioning. The idea is that both sanctioning tracks should complete and support each other. But what are, in Belgium, the main policy lines that the criminal courts have been drawing within the very wide margins of discretion provided by the common criminal law and the special environmental crime law? What is the punishment policy administrative penalization has to offer a complement to? The question is researched by an econometric analysis of the 1156 judgments (1034 first instance judgments and 122 appeal judgments) that form the environmental crime case law in the years 2003- 2006 (2007) within the judicial resort of the Court of Appeal of Gent.

Click here (pdf, 656 KB) to view the full article.

Patricia Popelier (ed.), Carole M. Billiet, Liesbet Deben en Koen Van Aeken, Heldere handhaving. Naar een sterker handhavingsbeleid door betere regelgeving en communicatie [Clear Law Enforcement. To a Stronger Enforcement Policy through Better Laws and Communication], Brussel, Politeia, 2010, 347p.

Roel Meeus, Fill in the gaps: EU sanctioning requirements to improve Member State enforcement of EU environmental law, Journal for European Environmental & Planning Law, 2010, nr. 7.2, 135-162

The enforcement deficit in EU environmental law would partly stem from bad Member State governance of the autonomy they traditionally enjoy regarding the enforcement of EU law. Both the EU legislator and the European Court of Justice take steps to ‘fill in the gaps’ and develop sanctioning requirements to improve Member State enforcement of EU (environmental) law. These requirements are discussed in this article. The Eco Crime Directive 2008/99/EC and the Ship Source Pollution Directive 2005/35/EC, the latter as recently amended, deserve some particular attention. Also the novelties of the Lisbon Treaty are considered.

Click here (pdf, 223 KB) to view the full article.

Carole M. Billiet, Bestraffing van milieucriminaliteit: de beboetingsambtenaar als derde speler op het veld [Punishing Environmental Crime: the Fining Officer as Third Player on the Game], in Luc Lavrysen (ed.), Het milieuhandhavingsdecreet in de praktijk. Een jaar nieuwe milieuhandhavingspraktijk onder de loep [The Environmental Enforcement Act in Practice. One Year of New Environmental Enforcement Under the Looking Glass], Brugge, die Keure, 2010, 338p.

After clarifying the new fining system that entered into force with the Flemish Environmental Enforcement Act and its government decrees, Carole M. Billiet discusses how the punitive enforcement of environmental crimes took place between the public prosecutor and the criminal judge with regard to the input of files and to punishment, and how this could be influenced when a third player  – the fining officer – arrives on the field. Her analysis makes use of empirical data concerning the input and pathway of the files that have been gathered in the dataset of the SBO project. The public prosecutor becomes more than ever the key player in the punishment of environmental crime. His views on how to manage the incoming files appropriately have far-reaching effects on the resulting sanctions.

Luc Lavrysen, Het toepassingsgebied van Titel XVI DABM en het handhavingsbeleid [The Range of Application of Title XVI Environmental Policy Act and the Enforcement Policy], in Luc Lavrysen (ed.), Het milieuhandhavingsdecreet in de praktijk. Een jaar nieuwe milieuhandhavingspraktijk onder de loep [The Environmental Enforcement Act in Practice. One Year of New Environmental Enforcement Under the Looking Glass], Brugge, die Keure, 2010, 338p.

In this contribution Luc Lavrysen subsequently discusses the field of application and the entry into force of the new Flemish environmental enforcement rules, the difference between environmental violations and environmental crimes and the environmental enforcement policy.

Luc Lavrysen (ed.), Het milieuhandhavingsdecreet in de praktijk. Een jaar nieuwe milieuhandhavingspraktijk onder de loep [The Environmental Enforcement Act in Practice. One Year of New Environmental Enforcement Under the Looking Glass], Brugge, die Keure, 2010, 338p.

The First Environmental Enforcement Conference, held in Ghent on 4 June 2010 and organized by Ghent University, in collaboration with Studipolis, discussed the first year of application in practice of the new Flemish environmental enforcement legislation. The contributions of the different speakers have been brought together in this book. Luc Lavrysen (CM&ER, Ghent University / Constitutional Court of Belgium) clarifies the field of application of the new environmental enforcement rules and the environmental enforcement policy. Peter De Smedt (CM&ER, Ghent University / lawyer / Flemish High Council for Environmental Law Enforcement) discusses the proactive and reparatory enforcement of environmental law making use of administrative sanctions and safety measures. Carole M. Billiet (CM&ER, Ghent University / deputy president of the Flemish Environmental Law Enforcement College) examines the role of the fining officer as a third player on the enforcement field, next to the public prosecutor and the criminal judge. Lastly, Hans Van Landeghem (CM&ER, Ghent University / lawyer) highlights the criminal enforcement provisions of the Flemish Environmental Enforcement Act.

Carole M. Billiet, Sandra Rousseau, Roel Meeus and Annelies Balcaen, Minnelijke schikkingen voor milieumisdrijven in Vlaanderen [Transactions for Environmental Crime in Flanders], Panopticon, 2010/4, 78-84

In the SBO project Environmental law enforcement: a comparison of practice in the criminal and the administrative tracks (2007 – 2011) we do research on the criminal and administrative sanctioning practice with regard to violations of environmental law. The corner stone of our project is a database that we have created between april 2007 and december 2009. The part of the database that documents the criminal and administrative pathway preceding the imposition of a sanction has been finalized at the end of the summer of 2009, after performing a quality check. This article discusses the first results concerning the use of settlements by the prosecutor in the criminal track.

Click here (pdf, 199 KB) to view the full article (Dutch).

Roel Meeus, Te handhaven bepalingen in Europese richtlijnen. Casus van de afvalstoffenrichtlijnen [Provisions to Enforce in European Directives. The Case of the Waste Directives], Nieuw Juridisch Weekblad, 2010, 382-411

Roel Meeus does research on enforceable environmental norms that have an EU origin. He gives a clear overview of the enforceable norms in EU waste directives and as such offers enforcers on the field a practical tool.

Click here (pdf, 1.84 MB) to view the full article (Dutch).

Carole M. Billiet and Roel Meeus, Europese verordeningen en de handhaver. De sanctieregelingen van milieuverordeningen in het licht van de handhavingspraktijk [European Regulations and the Law Enforcer. The Sanctioning Provisions in Environmental Regulations in Light of the Enforcement Practice], Tijdschrift voor Milieurecht, 2010, 164-202

The main goal of this article is to support the enforcement in practice of EU environmental regulations. We are confident that it offers enforcers -- prosecutors, criminal judges, environmental inspection agencies and other administrative organs with sanctioning powers -- a helpful instrument. They can find information about EU regulations as a legislative instrument, EU requirements with regard to the enforcement of EU regulations, the content and evolution in time of EU environmental regulations, the existing sanctions at regional (Flemish) and federal level, and the gaps in that regional and federal legislation. Our research made clear what efforts the competent regional and federal legislators still have to do, where sanctions are incomplete or entirely lacking. The analysis ends with some legislative-technical recommendations.

Click here (pdf, 614 KB) to view the the full article (Dutch).

F.C.M.A. Michiels and A.M.P.J.H. Sauvé, De praktijk van de last onder dwangsom in het milieurecht [The Practice of the Order Under Penalty Payment in Environmental Law], Milieu en Recht, 2010/2, 68-76 (publisher Kluwer)

Situational sanctions combined with a penalty payment in case of non-execution have been used in Dutch environmental law since a quarter century. A lot of (current) knowledge about the factual application of this competence is however lacking. This article reports on a research completed on the working in practice of situational sanctions combined with a penalty payment in case of non-execution: how often, by who, how, why and with which result are these sanctions imposed and executed? Are these sanctions effective enforcement tools?

Click here (pdf, 145 KB) to view the full article (Dutch).

Thomas Blondiau en Sandra Rousseau, The impact of the judicial objective function on the enforcement of environmental standards, Journal of Regulatory Economics, 2010, vol 37(2), 196-214

We investigate the influence of a judge’s objective function on the type of sanctions used for enforcing environmental standards and focus on the difference between monetary and non-monetary penalties. Therefore, we examine the extent to which judges take social costs of sanctions into account when making judgments in court in the context of environmental violations. Furthermore, we conduct an empirical analysis to test the main findings of the theoretical model using court data from several Belgian jurisdictions. We find evidence that besides deterrence judges also take the social costs of sanctions into account in their decision-making.

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Carole M. Billiet and Roel Meeus, Europese verordeningen als wetgevingsvraagstuk: het voorbeeld van de milieuverordeningen [European Regulations as a Legislative Issue: the Example of the Environmental Regulations], Tijdschrift voor Wetgeving, 2009/4, 278-306

This article concerns the legislative requirements with regard to the enforcement of EU environmental regulations, and more specifically with regard to the sanctioning thereof. We build upon previous research concerning the sanctioning of EU environmental regulations and use it as a case study to illustrate some difficulties and possibilities the legislator can encounter while implementing his obligations. Starting from this case study we discuss the rules on the implementation of EU regulations regarding the sanctioning thereof, the way EU regulations appear and evolve, the legislative techniques to implement EU regulations concerning sanctions, the advantages and disadvantages of the different possibilities in this matter, mistakes that can be made, and the care for workable sanctioning regulations in practice,… All subjects relevant for every policy domain where the EU legislator proceeds by means of regulations. The idea is to give technical legislative support to our legislators for a correct implementation of EU regulations, in particular with regard to the sanctioning thereof.

Click here (pdf, 336 KB) to view the full article (Dutch).

Carole M. Billiet, Wazigheid der jaren: de hoorplicht bij bestuurlijke sancties opgelegd na een aanslepend voortraject [Haziness of Years: the Hearing Duty with Regard to Administrative Sanctions Imposed after Long-Lasting Preliminaries], C.D.P.K., 2009/3, 519-531

In this article Carole M. Billiet discusses a decision of the Belgian Council of State (decision 190.646, b.v.b.a. SORAF, 19 February 2009) concerning the public hearing requirement for administrative decisions to sanction.

Click here (pdf, 161 KB) to view the full article (Dutch).

Melissa De Schuyter and Jesse Lambrecht, Uitgevoerd staat netjes? De controle op de uitvoer van afvalstoffen naar derde wereldlanden: wetgeving en beleidsvoering [Tidily Exported? The Control on the Export of Waste to Third World Countries: Legislation and Policy], Tijdschrift voor Milieurecht, 2009/6, 684-717

This article tries to give an insight into the controls currently executed in Belgium on waste shipments to third world countries. After the introduction we discuss the Probo Koala case (Part 2). In Part 3 we go into the European legislation on this matter. Part 4 concerns the IMPEL-TFS network and spotlights some projects concerning cross-border waste shipments executed under this network. Part 5 discusses the actual enforcement of cross-border waste shipments in Belgium. The different authorities involved are described, along with their tasks and realisations. We also explain how the controls are executed in practice, how the different authorities involved communicate with each other and which problems are faced. The text was concluded on 31 July 2009.

Click here (pdf, 596 KB) to view the full article (Dutch).

F.C.M.A. Michiels, Twee wapens in de strijd. Over de last onder dwangsom en de bestuurlijke transactie als instrumenten ter handhaving van het milieurecht in Nederland [Two Weapons in the Battle. About the Order Under Penalty Payment and the Administrative Transaction as Instruments to Enforce Environmental Law in the Netherlands], Tijdschrift voor Milieurecht, 2009/6, 666-683

Situational sanctions combined with a penalty payment in case of non-execution seem to have become the dominant administrative sanctions for environmental offences in the Netherlands. Research shows that all authorities competent to use this sanction (municipalities, provinces, ‘waterschappen’ and ministries) frequently apply it to enforce environmental law. The sanction seems to produce the desired effect: the researchers estimate that in at least 70 % of the cases the violation was brought to an end by imposing a situational sanction under the threat of a penalty payment in case of non-execution. However, the requirements to apply the penalty payment in case of non-execution of the situational sanction appear to be deficient for some instances. Furthermore, the lack of a coherent policy regarding the application of the penalty payment seems to result in the use by one and the same instance of different penalty payment amounts for the same or similar violations. The use of the administrative transaction to enforce environmental law seems to produce equally positive results in the Netherlands: the application of the administrative transaction by the competent authorities seems to be on the increase and is generally conceived as a useful add to the enforcement instrumentarium because of its effectiveness (high percentage of immediate payments: an average of 79 %). The administrative transaction in environmental law, however, has quite a limited scope – the execution decree concerned from 2000 only puts into place a pilot project. Despite the positive results an extension of the scope of the administrative transaction does not seem to be at stake because of the awaited arrival of another enforcement tool, i.e. an administrative penalty that is reviewed by a criminal judge when it is challenged in time, but becomes definitive when it is not challenged.

Click here (pdf, 243 KB) to view the full article (Dutch).

Carole M. Billiet, Peter Desmedt and Hans Van Landeghem, Vlaamse milieuhandhaving nieuwe stijl, Tijdschrift voor Milieurecht, 2009, 326 – 374

As nowadays all and each should know, the enforcement of environmental law in the Flemish Region did recently undergo a far-reaching reorganization. The new Book XVI ‘Inspection, enforcement and security measures’ of the Decree of 5 April 1995 holding general environmental policy provisions (Environmental Enforcement Decree 2007, Extension Decree 2009, Environmental Enforcement Order 2008 – 2009, and other executive orders) (entry into force of the main laws on the 1st of May and the 25th of June) sign a.o. for the foundations of a more coherent enforcement policy, uniform inspection rules, a very important consolidation and extension of the range of remedial administrative sanctions (called “measures”), the introduction of an alternative (soft depenalization) and an exclusive (hard depenalization) administrative fining system, and an in-depth remodeling of the criminal law enforcement tools. This paper discusses the strongest innovations of the new law. The critical overview connects where possible to existing and relevant empirical data.

Click here (pdf, 349 KB) to view the full article (Dutch).

Carole M. Billiet, Les amendes administratives en droit aérien: oeuvre d’apprenti-sorcier? [Administrative Fines in Aviation Law : an Apprentice Magician’s Job ?], Droit Pénal de l’Entreprise, 2009/3, 231 – 241

Since January 2009, infringements of the law regarding the civil aviation can be punished with administrative fines. The legislative initiative was a.o. prompted by the noise nuisance problems generated by the Brussels National Airport, especially night flights. The paper analyses the impact of the new fining system on the airline companies. It points out that the administrative fining system, as nearly all administrative fining systems, has a very limited circle of possible punishment addressees (no parallel for the articles 66 en 67 Book I Criminal Code – no co-perpetrators nor accomplices). It also stresses that article 14 § 5 UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, that holds the right to a judicial review in two instances, as the whole of the Covenant and unlike the ECHR, does not confer rights to legal bodies.

Due to copyrights the article cannot be downloaded from this website.

Tom Vander Beken and Annelies Balcaen, Strafvorderingsrichtlijnen voor het openbaar ministerie: een (nieuwe) schakel in de veiligheidsketen? [Guidelines for the Sentences Demanded by the Public Prosecution’s: a (New) Link in the Security Chain?], Cahiers Politiestudies, 2009/03, 109-135

The public prosecutor’s office is a central player in the criminal procedure. The actor has always had a huge discretion in deciding on the opportunity to prosecute. The last years, this freedom has become increasingly subject of discussion. A number of initiatives have already been taken to develop a more transparent prosecution policy. Those initiatives limit the freedom of decision making of the public prosecutor. The question rises however, whether more far-reaching reforms are desirable. In order to be able to answer this question, analysis has been made of the Dutch prosecution guidelines and an answer is provided on the possible added value for the Belgian prosecution policy.

Click here (pdf, 258 KB) to view the full article (Dutch).

Sandra Rousseau and Kjetil Telle, On the existence of the optimal fine for environmental crime, International Review for Law and Economics, 2010, vol. 30(4), 329-337

Classical theory states that the optimal fine is the damage caused by the crime divided by the probability of detection. But does such an optimal fine exist? We focus on emissions from production, and, even if we assume that the damage function is perfectly known, we still show that the optimal fine typically does not exist. Non-existence occurs as the environmental damage function is non-linear in overall emissions, meaning that there are interactions between emissions, the economy and the environment. We argue that these interactions cannot be accurately reflected in the fine imposed by the regulator in practice. Previous literature on optimal fines does not recognize the non-existence of the applicable optimal fine, basically since this literature uses discrete models where the damage caused by the crime is assumed constant. Our result reduces the attractiveness of fines and may help explain enforcement agencies’ inclination towards non-monetary enforcement instruments.

Click here (pdf, 733 KB) to view the full article.

Sandra Rousseau, Evidence of a Filtered Approach to Environmental Monitoring, European Journal of Law and Economics, 2010, vol. 29(2), 195-209

This contribution focuses on the formulation of optimal inspection strategies and distinguishes between a targeting approach and a filtered approach to monitoring. Using a case study for the Flemish textile industry, we investigate the costs and benefits associated with specific monitoring and enforcement campaigns. The results show the beneficial role such campaigns can play in an effective and efficient monitoring policy. Thus we provide empirical evidence of the advantages associated with the filtered monitoring approach and show that filtering is an interesting complement to targeting.

Click here (pdf, 570 KB) to view the full article.

Sandra Rousseau, Empirical Analysis of Santions for Environmental Offences, International Review of Environmental and Resource Economics, 2009/3, 161-194

Sanctions are a crucial part of enforcing environmental regulations. We discuss the determinants and the levels of monetary penalties for environmental offenses found in practice. Three major categories of variables are distinguished: the circumstances of the offense, the characteristics of the offenders, and the indirect political and institutional effects. Some general trends emerge: fines increase with the harm caused by the offense, and fines are higher for repeat offenders as well as for intentional offenses. Also, the studies discussed indicate that political and institutional factors matter. The empirical studies provide some initial insights into the objective functions of courts and agencies.

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Carole M. Billiet, Sandra Rousseau, Annelies Balcaen, Roel Meeus, Karel Styns, Geert De Meyer, Tom Vander Beken, Luc Lavrysen, Milieucriminaliteit in handen van strafrechters en beboetingsambtenaren: feiten uit Vlaanderen en Brussel [Environmental Crime as Handled by Criminal Courts and Fining Officers: Facts from Flanders and Brussels], Milieu en Recht, 2009/06, 342-349

Carole M. Billiet, Tom Vander Beken, Sandra Rousseau, Annelies Balcaen, Roel Meeus, Karel Styns, Geert De Meyer, Luc Lavrysen, Milieucriminaliteit: feiten omtrent bestraffing [Environmental Crime: Facts About Punishment], Panopticon, 2009/03, 69-75

The cornerstone of our research project is a database covering the whole penalization trajectory within both the criminal and the administrative track (from notice of violation to the execution of sanctions, encompassing a.o. discretionary dismissal, amicable settlement and the decision to impose one or more sanctions).  The present article concerns this database and offers a first view on the results that can be achieved with it.

Click here (pdf, 605 KB) to view the full article (Dutch).

Carole M. Billiet, Sandra Rousseau, Annelies Balcaen, Roel Meeus, Karel Styns, Geert De Meyer, Tom Vander Beken, Luc Lavrysen, Milieurechtshandhaving: een databestand voor onderzoek naar de penale en bestuurlijke sanctioneringspraktijk [Environmental Law Enforcement: a Database to Research the Criminal and Administrative Sanctioning Practices], Tijdschrift voor Milieurecht, 2009/02, 128-150

Carole M. Billiet, Bestuurlijke sanctionering van milieurecht. Wetgeving en praktijk [Administrative Sanctioning of Environmental Law. Legislation and Practice], Antwerpen-Oxford, Intersentia, 2008, 995p.

Law enforcement is the corner stone of every policy. Legislation without effective enforcement measures remains dead letter. The low level of knowledge of administrative sanctioning systems is in contradiction with their policy relevance. Unlike most criminal sanctions that primarily pursue punishment, many administrative sanctions above all aim for remediation.

This book provides a systematic description and a thorough analysis of all legal aspects of the administrative enforcement of environmental law in Belgium. It is the first indepth work on the subject. The author offers her readers a soundly documented and reasoned answer to key questions regarding the subject, such as ‘Which administrative sanctions exist in our environmental law?’, ‘What is their law enforcing potential?’, ‘What with the law enforcement practice?’.

Remediation orders, coercive measures, the suspension and withdrawal of permits and other authorisations, administrative fines,… all these sanctions are discussed and analyzed from a current law enforcement practice perspective. Considerable attention is paid to legislative quality, in particular in the light of Articles 6 and 7 ECHR and Articles 14 and 15 ICCPR. The author uses a strongly innovative approach regarding the structure and practice of discretionary powers inherent to sanctioning competences. Among the sources the author consulted there are some 400 unpublished administrative decisions.

This book is a standard work for all lawyers and policy makers – sollicitors, legislators, civil servants, magistrates, consultants,… – who professionally get in touch with environmental law and law enforcement.

Roel Meeus, Specifieke sanctieverplichtingen in het Europees milieurecht: een zorg voor onze wetgever en handhavers? [Specific Sanctioning Duties in European Environmental Law: a Concern for our Legislator and Law Enforcers?], Milieu en Recht, 2008, 478-494

In this article, Roel Meeus discusses the specific sanctioning duties in European environmental law and the implications of those provisions for the environmental legislator and for the environmental law enforcers with sanctioning competences. Specific sanctioning duties in environmental directives and regulations are rules in which the Community legislator decides to a greater or lesser extent which sanctions Member States should impose on offenders against the Community regulations in question. For the purpose of this paper, the author systematically screened European environmental health legislation for such specific sanctioning duties. The specific sanctioning duties identified in this way were then logically and clearly subdivided into five different types.

Click here (pdf, 582 KB) to view the full article (Dutch).

Roel Meeus, De arresten nr. 36/2008 en nr. 82/2008 van het Grondwettelijk Hof: het moeilijke onderscheid tussen de grondwettige en ongrondwettige open textuur van strafrechtelijk gesanctioneerde milieuzorgplichtbepalingen [The Judgments n° 36/2008 and n° 82/2008 of the Constitutional Court: the Difficult Distinction Between a Constitutional and Unconstitutional Open Texture of Provisions Holding Environmental Duties to Care], Tijdschrift voor Milieurecht, 2008, 454-472

This article analyzes rulings nos. 36/2008 and 82/2008 of the Belgian Constitutional Court in which a number of criminally enforceable environmental care obligations from Flemish environmental legislation were reviewed against the legality principle in criminal law. The issue that arose in these rulings concerned the question whether cases of vague criminalization such as criminally enforceable environmental care obligations actually satisfy the requirements of precision and clarity which the legality principle imposes on the criminalization of offences. Article 22(2) of the Environmental Licensing Decree and Article 13(1) of the Waste Decree stood the test, whereas the criminalization of breaches of Article 14 of the Conservation Decree was found to be unconstitutional. The article also discusses rulings nos. 36/2008 and 82/2008 in the light of earlier rulings by the Court on the legality principle in criminal law. 

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Carole M. Billiet, Beginselen van behoorlijk bestuur en bestuurlijke handhaving. Evenredigheid en zuinigheid in het sanctioneringsproces [Principles of Proper Administration and Administrative Law Enforcement. Proportionality and Economy in the Sanctioning Process], Tijdschrift voor Milieurecht, 2008, 298-309

Administrative sanctioning powers consistently contain a certain measure of discretion. This discretion implies the right and the obligation to balance interests in such a way that the public interest is promoted. Principles of good government play a crucial role in this exercise. The article explores the relevance of the proportionality and economy principle in the administrative sanctioning process. The proportionality principle has seen an important development in the case-law of the Council of State and appears to be structured differently according to whether the sanction in question is punitive or remedial. The economy principle determines the valuation of the enforcing authority’s interest and therefore has a major influence on the weighing process.

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Sandra Rousseau and Carole M. Billiet, Rechtseconomische analyse van de handhavingsnood in het milieubeleid [A Law and Economics Analysis of the Enforcement Deficit in Environmental Policy], Review of Business and Economics, 2008, 188-212

In this interdisciplinary analysis, emphasis is on the basic model of environmental law enforcement from a law and economics point of view. We investigate why certain industries breach environmental regulations and which factors influence their decision to do so. The basic model shows that the social benefits of enforcement are greatest where marginal costs equal marginal benefits. This means that optimal enforcement does not by definition equal maximum enforcement. This view is fairly easy to convey in a theoretical model. However, it is far more difficult to determine the optimal enforcement policy and to formulate guidelines for real applications in the field. Nevertheless, by keeping in mind a few simple legislative recommendations, the legislator can clearly make a substantial difference to an enforcement policy that is capable of being socially cost-effective.

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Roel Meeus, De basishandhavingsplicht van de lidstaten van de Europese Unie in het communautair milieurecht [The Basic Enforcement Duty of the Member States of the European Union in European Environmental Law], Tijdschrift voor Milieurecht, 2007, 311-359

In this article, Roel Meeus examines the basic enforcement obligation incumbent on European Union Member States in the area of Community environmental law. The European Court of Justice derives this basic enforcement obligation from the principle of Community loyalty enshrined in Article 10 of the EC Treaty. It entails, among other things, the obligation for Member States to provide for effective, proportional and deterrent penalties in their domestic law for breaches of Community law. The various aspects of the basic enforcement obligation are discussed in the article. Emphasis is on the obligation to impose sanctions. The conclusion elaborates on the relevance of the basic enforcement obligation for the Belgian federal and Flemish environmental legislator on the one hand and the environmental law enforcement authorities with sanctioning powers on the other.

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Carole M. Billiet, Milieurecht en handhavingstekort: de handhavingsnood in het licht van de te handhaven normen [Environmental Law and Enforcement Deficit: the Enforcement Needs in the Light of the Standards Requiring Compliance], Tijdschrift voor Milieurecht, 2007, 294-310

The article contrasts the much-discussed ‘enforcement deficit’ in environmental law with the need for enforcement. It attempts to objectify this enforcement need by making an analysis of the enforcement-worthiness of the different categories of regulations that exist in our environmental law. The enforcement-worthiness of regulations is assessed in the light of their instrumental merit to environmental policy and of regulation-specific factors that are susceptible of increasing the chance of catching offenders and the cost of violation and are therefore capable of mitigating the need for enforcement. The costs of enforcement specific to the different categories of regulations are examined as well.

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