Criminal law protection of the environment in European Union law

The paper discusses the development of rules on criminal law protection of the environment adopted at the European Union level. It is indicated that this development proceeded from the complete dependence of these rules on administrative rules on environmental protection, through their gradual independence, to the complete separation of an autonomous system of criminal law protection of the environment. Even today, this system is in constant development and improvement due to raising awareness of the importance of comprehensive, including criminal law protection of the environment, and the constant emergence of new forms of environmental damage and endangerment that require a criminal law response. After a brief review of previously adopted acts in the field of criminal law protection of the environment, the paper focuses on a detailed analysis of the new EU Directive on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law from 2024.