Croatia to add 'ecocide' to Criminal Code — penalties from 10 years up to life or 40 years

Croatia's justice minister, Damir Habijan, announced plans to add a new crime — "ecocide" — to the Criminal Code, defining it as a serious offence against the environment and proposing stiff prison terms and higher corporate fines.

Proposal and timeline

Habijan said the change is part of a broader process to align Croatia with the European environmental directive and not linked to the hazardous-waste scandal near Gospić. A working group to draft the amendments was formed on 29 May, and the draft introducing the ecocide offence is currently in public consultation.

"This is something that currently does not exist in Croatian criminal law," Habijan said, underlining that the move would create a category for the gravest environmental crimes.

Under the proposal, ecocide would carry a minimum prison term of 10 years; the maximum penalty could be life imprisonment, or 40 years. "In this case, or in this particular example, a life imprisonment sentence can be imposed. So, from at least 10 years up to life imprisonment for such offences," he said.

Habijan also said the offence would not be subject to statutory limitation: "Why is that important? Because with these offences, when we have crimes against the environment, i.e. pollution of soil or water, the consequences of such an offence can become visible after several decades. And that is why it is important that such an offence does not prescribe," he said.

Alongside prison terms, the minister proposed increasing penalties for legal entities. Currently fines for companies convicted of such crimes can reach up to €20 million, or €25 million if the case involves a criminal organisation; the draft would raise that ceiling to €50 million. "By amending the Law on Liability of Legal Entities for Criminal Offences, we will prescribe that this penalty be increased so that it amounts to €50 million," Habijan said.

The announcements come as the Croatian Parliament has held an extraordinary session to address hazardous waste near Gospić. Before that session, the Parliamentary Committee on Environmental Protection and Nature reviewed recommendations that would oblige the government to begin permanent remediation of the hazardous-waste site in Gospić, to ensure continuous monitoring of groundwater and the wider environment, and to report measures and results to Parliament within 15 days and then every 30 days.

Committee proposals also call for the government to meet representatives of residents and civic initiatives within three days and to keep the public continuously informed. The State Inspectorate would be tasked to immediately inspect all depots suspected of holding hazardous or illegally dumped waste and to report its findings to Parliament within three months. The opposition has demanded a no-confidence vote in the prime minister over the Gospić waste scandal.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Donald Trung / CC BY-SA 4.0