The Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law: A normative turning point in European environmental governance

The Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law, adopted at the 134th Session of the Committee of Ministers (Luxembourg, 13–14 May 2025), represents a major development in European environmental governance. It establishes a common framework of offences, sanctions and procedural mechanisms aimed at strengthening the prevention and punishment of environmental crime. Its innovative scope lies in its harmonising ambition, which enhances coherence among the legal orders of the Council of Europe, the European Union and the United Nations. By combining interinstitutional coordination, strategic planning, adequate resource allocation, the specialisation of actors and public participation, the Convention elevates criminal enforcement to a central pillar of a systemic environmental policy. Its monitoring mechanism, grounded in cooperation and collective evaluation rather than coercion, embodies the participatory governance philosophy characteristic of the Council of Europe.