Environmental terrorism - victimological aspects and preventive mechanisms

Defined extensively as committing ecological criminal offences with the intention to achieve political goals, environmental terrorism is a global threat to environment, human life, safety and health, as well as to the survival of flora and fauna. Environmental terrorism contains the elements of environmental crime and the elements of terrorism, which makes the position of its victims particularly complex. The subject of this paper includes defining environmental terrorism, analysing its phenomenology. Since this form of crime simultaneously harms and endangers environment, material goods, human life, safety and health, flora and fauna, the subject also comprises the study of the specific position of its victims. It is emphasised that longlasting and extensive consequences of ecological criminal offences make it difficult to determine promptly the victims of this form of crime, as well as that its victims are victimised twice: due to terrorist attack and due to negative consequences of ecological criminal offences (such as severe health damage) often emerging after several years. The subject covers the analysis of current international legal mechanisms for the prevention and protection of environmental terrorism victims’ rights, including those dealing with terrorism in general as well as those relevant to the protection of environment from negative anthropogenic factors. Finally, the subject contains a critical analysis of legislative framework of the Republic of Serbia pertinent to the prevention and sanctioning of environmental terrorism, with focus on the provisions of current Criminal Code prescribing ecological criminal offences and terrorism. In order to achieve more precise tracking of the scope and dynamics of environmental terrorism and more adequate sanctioning compatible with its social hazard, the authors propose its incrimination as an independent criminal offence against humanity and other values protected by the international law. The purpose of this paper is to define environmental terrorism, analyse its forms and to examine current mechanisms for the prevention of victimisation from environmental terrorism and the protection of its victims’ rights on international and national level. Moreover, the authors seek to contribute to the improvement of the quality of tracking and to the efficiency of prevention of victimization from environmental terrorism in Serbia by suggesting its incrimination as an independent criminal offence.