ENHANCING PROFESSIONAL CAPACITIES OF THE PUBLIC PROSECUTION SERVICE FOR ADDRESSING CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CRIMES IN SERBIA

Abstract

Environmental crime is characterized by severe consequences for the environment, life and health of people, flora and fauna, but also a connection with economic and organized crime through the accumulation of illegal profits, as well as difficult detection and prosecution due to its often-transnational nature.  Тhеse characteristics of environmental crime encouraged the European Union to develop a new, comprehensive legal framework in this area. For Serbia, as a candidate country in the process of joining the European Union, this means the obligation to harmonize the national normative framework with EU standards, but also to strengthen the administrative capacity of the judiciary and the prosecution service for the investigation and prosecution of environmental crimes. Even the legislative changes are not fast and simple process, the capacity building of those who needs to implement the newly amended legislation is even more demanding. The current state of play in terms of combating environmental crime is predominantly marked by two main factors: comprehensive, detailed and complicated normative framework which is yet to be fully aligned with the relevant EU legislation and the low number of indictments and convictions, disproportionate even to the publicly exposed cases of grave threats. The comprehensiveness of the currently available normative framework, paired with the expected further legislative reform and the already overburdened judiciary by the high number of cases and insufficient availability of administrative staff and technical resources clearly speaks in favour of the urgent need to work intensively on building capacities of public prosecutors.