Criminal Lawyers in Environmental Crimes

Crimes against the environment (Arts. 325 to 340 CP, Title XVI of Book II) protect a collective legal interest of first magnitude: the balance of natural systems and human health, a mandate derived from Art. 45 SC. Their regime complements environmental administrative law (Act 26/2007 on Environmental Liability, Act 22/2011 on Waste, Act 21/2013 on Environmental Assessment, Act 7/2022 on Waste and Contaminated Soils, sectoral regional regulations) creating a dual sanctioning system. Supreme Court doctrine has consolidated the abstract-concrete danger character of these types: it suffices that the conduct has potential aptitude to seriously harm ecological balance, without requiring effective quantifiable damage.

The commission modalities are varied. The basic type (Art. 325 CP) sanctions discharges, emissions, injections, radiation, extractions or vibrations, as well as introduction of water captures or noise, into the atmosphere, soil, subsoil, terrestrial waters, groundwater or maritime waters. Aggravated types raise the penalty when the conduct creates a risk of serious harm to human health (Art. 325.2 CP), when one of the circumstances of Art. 327 CP applies —clandestine activity, disobedience, falsified information, obstruction of inspection, risk of irreversible or catastrophic deterioration— or when a protected natural space is affected (National Parks, SPA, SCI, Natura 2000 Network; Art. 338 CP). Art. 326 CP sanctions illicit waste management. Arts. 332-336 CP typify crimes against flora and fauna (poaching, CITES trafficking, illegal logging, prohibited trade) and Arts. 338-340 CP protect designated natural spaces. Animal cruelty, formerly in the repealed Art. 337 CP, has been punished under Art. 340 bis CP since Organic Law 3/2023. The legal entity responds autonomously (Art. 328 CP) with fines, intervention and contracting prohibition.

The statutory penalties are severe and have been hardened by Organic Law 1/2015 and EU Directive transposition. The basic type carries 6 months to 2 years' prison, 10-14 months' fine and special disqualification from profession or trade (1 to 2 years). Aggravated types reach 2 to 5 years' prison (Art. 325.2 CP); with serious health risk, the upper half, which may reach 7 years and 6 months. Illicit waste management carries the same penalties as Art. 325 (Art. 326.1 CP), and illegal shipment of waste 3 months to 1 year's prison or a 6 to 18-month fine plus 3 months to 1 year's disqualification (Art. 326.2 CP). Flora and fauna crimes, 6 months to 2 years' prison with special hunting disqualification. The legal entity can face fines of 1 to 3 years (or 6 months to 2 years) or, if higher, of double to quadruple (or triple) the harm caused (Art. 328 CP), activity suspension, premises closure up to five years, judicial intervention and, in extreme cases, dissolution. Added to these is the civil obligation of environmental restoration (Art. 339 CP) and parallel administrative sanctions that can reach several million euros.

The technical defence rests on four consolidated axes. First, expert challenge: prosecution reports (SEPRONA, Hydrographic Confederations, regional Inspection) must be confronted with independent counter-expert reports from chemists, biologists, registered environmental engineers; challenging the sampling methodology, measurement points, sample chain of custody and laboratory protocols can be determinative. Second, environmental causality: the causal link between the conduct alleged and the serious risk must be proven; concauses (third-party discharges, natural phenomena, historical contamination background) exclude or attenuate attribution. Third, administrative licence: activity covered by valid authorization (even if insufficient) excludes intent and limits attribution to the excess. Fourth, corrective measures and voluntary restoration: timely adoption of measures (discharge cessation, soil restoration, waste removal) has its own rule: if the offender voluntarily repairs the damage caused, the court imposes the penalty one degree lower (Art. 340 CP).

In current forensic practice we observe a significant intensification of environmental criminal prosecution, fueled by the European green agenda (European Green Deal), Directive 2008/99/EC on criminal environmental protection and Directive 2024/1203 on environmental crimes, Act 7/2021 on Climate Change, Act 7/2022 on Waste, Organic Law 1/2025 on Justice Service Efficiency and growing activation of popular prosecution by environmental organizations (Greenpeace, Ecologists in Action, WWF). The Environmental and Urban Planning Prosecutor's Office has delegate prosecutors in each province coordinating with SEPRONA, regional authorities, Labour Inspectorate and Tax Agency. At Alonso Sala, with more than 15 years of experience, we approach each file coordinating environmental experts, sectoral engineers, administrative lawyers and environmental compliance experts, articulating defences combining criminal law, administrative pleadings, voluntary restoration and reputational management.