Environmental criminal law in German legislation
For a long time, criminal law provisions for the protection of the environment were not integrated into core criminal law, but were the subject of so-called secondary criminal law. This situation only changed in 1980 with the first law to combat environmental crime. Since then, important provisions of environmental criminal law have been part of the Criminal Code (Section 28 "Offenses against the environment") and are classified as misdemeanors and felonies.
Introduction of environmental administrative law
As it is not possible for the state to carry out complete monitoring, environmental administrative law was also introduced in order to establish a legal framework before environmentally harmful acts are committed. This regulates the way in which people must deal with a certain environmental good (air, soil, water, etc.) and what type and extent of use or pollution is permitted.
In April 2004, an "Interdisciplinary Department for Combating Corruption and Environmental Crime" was set up at the LKA NRW. This department only takes on cases on the instructions of the Minister of Justice or the Minister of the Interior, at the request of a public prosecutor's office or a court, and in particular when there are indications of supra-regional, transnational or international crime connections and centralized responsibility is required. Supra-regional criminal proceedings are handled by the LKA NRW in investigation commissions.