Sentencing individuals for environmental offences

Produced in partnership with Christian Jowett of 30 Park Place, Cardiff and 36 Group, London
Practice notes

Sentencing individuals for environmental offences

Produced in partnership with Christian Jowett of 30 Park Place, Cardiff and 36 Group, London

Practice notes
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The Sentencing Council has published offence specific sentencing guidelines (the Guidelines) for use in magistrates’ courts and Crown Courts in England and Wales for the unauthorised or harmful deposit, treatment or disposal of waste and for illegal discharges to air, water and land contrary to section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA 1990) and regulations 12, 38(1), (2) and (3) of the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016, SI 2016/1154 (EPR 2016). The Guidelines also refer to the now repealed Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010 (EPR 2010), SI 2010/675, which the EPR 2016 replaced.

The Guidelines are effective from 1 July 2014, regardless of when the offence took place. However, they do not extend to Scotland or Northern Ireland although the sentencing courts in these jurisdictions may have Reference to them to assist them when sentencing. For information on the investigation, prosecution and sentencing of environmental offences in Scotland, see: Scottish environmental enforcement—overview.

The Sentencing Council has also published sentencing guidelines for the

Christian Jowett
Christian Jowett chambers

Christian’s core specialisms lie in regulatory law and in administrative law.

Christian’s environmental crime practice focuses primarily on waste, but extends to the whole calendar of environmental offending. He has a particular interest in subsidiary confiscation and asset recovery under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, which is best represented by R v Morgan [2013] EWCA Crim. 1307, [2014] 1 All E.R. 1208, [2014] Env.L.R. 5, [2013] Lloyd's Rep FC 655, an appeal arising from an environmental prosecution, which concerned the interface between criminal confiscation, environmental regulation, landfill tax and the effect of Article 1, Protocol 1 to the ECHR.

A longstanding member of the Wales Working Party of the UK Environmental Law Association, Christian was elected to its National Council in 2017 with special responsibility for Wales, and has for several years co-convened UKELA’s Wales Devolved Group.

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Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
Key definition:
Environment definition
What does Environment mean?

The environment includes all or any of the following media;  air, water and land and any living organisms (including humans) or ecosystems supported by those media.

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