Draft bill published on implementation of EU Directive on the protection of the environment through criminal law

On 17 October 2025, the Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection (Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucher ‒ BMJV) published a draft bill on the implementation of the EU Directive on the protection of the environment through criminal law (Directive (EU) 2024/1203) (EU Directive).

The EU Directive establishes minimum rules for Member States regarding the definition of criminal offences and penalties in order to ensure effective and uniform environmental protection across Europe. It also regulates measures to prevent and combat environmental crime and to effectively enforce Union environmental law. It must be transposed into national law by 21 May 2026.

The draft bill that has now been introduced provides for significant changes to the German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch ‒ StGB), criminal offences under secondary legislation and administrative offences law. Among other measures, the draft bill stipulates that the maximum fine for legal entities and associations of persons will be quadrupled to €40 million where an intentional offence has been committed by one of their managing officers, irrespective of whether the offence is related to environmental law. The details of this are set out below:

I. Amendments to the Criminal Code

The German Criminal Code already largely covers the new requirements of the EU Directive. However, significant changes will arise primarily from the EU Directive’s requirement that most criminal offences be defined as endangerment offences. In future, conduct will increasingly be punishable by law if it is in principle likely to result in a breach of environmental law. Offences that are currently still enshrined in German criminal law as concrete endangerment offences (for example sections 325a(2), 327(2), 328(3)(1) and 328(3)(2) of the Criminal Code) are to be classified as potential endangerment offences (offences suitable for causing danger) in future. In the definition of the offence, only the suitability of the act to cause certain dangers will henceforth be decisive, even though the general dangerousness of a particular act must still be explicitly established. The occurrence of a concrete danger will no longer be part of the statutory definition of an offence.

The minimum threshold for maximum penalties laid down in the EU Directive (Article 5 (2)) will in certain cases lead to an increase in the upper limits of penalties under German law (for example, in sections 326(3), 327(2) and 330(2) of the Criminal Code).

However, the requirements of the new EU Directive will also lead to significant adjustments in minimum penalties. The draft bill therefore provides in particular for amendments to sections 311 and 330 of the Criminal Code. Under these amendments, conduct that causes particularly serious and far‑reaching damage to the environment (“ecocide”) will in future be punishable by a minimum prison sentence of one year. This makes such offences serious crimes. As a result, it will no longer be possible to discontinue proceedings for reasons of expediency (sections 153 and following of the German Code of Criminal Procedure (Strafprozessordnung ‒ StPO)); in particular discontinuing them subject to payment of a financial penalty will no longer be possible.

In addition, new criminal offences will be created, namely placing on the market of products that are harmful to the environment, implementing projects subject to environmental impact assessments without a development consent and actions relating to invasive alien species of Union concern.

1. Environmental product liability

In future, “environmental product liability” will be introduced. This means that extended criminal liability will be created for placing certain environmentally harmful products on the market. While the existing section 324 of the Criminal Code (water pollution) and section 324a of the Criminal Code (soil pollution) already cover the placing on the market of environmentally harmful products as criminal acts due to their broad wording, section 325 of the Criminal Code (air pollution) is to be comprehensively revised. The existing exemption for motor vehicles, rail vehicles, aircraft and watercraft will be abolished. This means that breaches of regulatory requirements relating to air emissions, including in the transport sector, will constitute criminal offences.

2. Unauthorised execution of projects

In addition, the draft bill introduces a new offence under section 327a of the Criminal Code, which makes it a criminal offence to execute projects without consent where an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is required. According to the provision, criminal liability may be considered if the project is carried out in a manner that is likely to cause significant damage to animals, plants, water, air, soil or an ecosystem.

3. Ecosystems as a protected part of the environment

In future, the ecosystem is to be incorporated into various existing environmental criminal law provisions as a protected part of the environment. A definition of the term “ecosystem” will be introduced in section 330d(1)(2) of the Criminal Code. According to this definition, an ecosystem is an ecologically significant dynamic complex of plant, animal and microorganism communities and their non-living environment, interacting as a functional unit that includes habitat types, habitats of species and species populations.

4. Exposure to energy legally relevant

Until now, exposure to energy has not been a legally relevant act under criminal law. Exposure to various forms of energy, such as “noise”, “vibrations”, “thermal energy” or “non-ionising radiation” will now be regulated under criminal law.

To this end, the draft bill provides for the modification of numerous provisions, for example section 324a of the Criminal Code (soil contamination), section 325(3) of the Criminal Code (air pollution) and section 325a of the Criminal Code (causing noise, vibrations and non-ionising radiation). Under certain circumstances, introducing, releasing or transmitting energy would thus be punishable. Consequently, even the unlawful generation of light could, in future, fulfil the elements of a criminal offence.

5. Aggravated offence in cases of catastrophic consequences for the environment

The intentional causing of “catastrophic consequences” for the environment will become subject to enhanced penalties. Under sections 311(3) and 330(2) of the draft Criminal Code, this will be punishable by imprisonment of between one and ten years and will therefore qualify as a serious criminal offence.

II. Changes in criminal offences under secondary legislation

To implement the EU Directive, the draft bill also provides for a number of adjustments to secondary criminal legislation, for example, to the German Federal Nature Conservation Act (Bundesnaturschutzgesetz), the German Federal Hunting Act (Bundesjagdgesetz), the German Waste Shipment Act (Abfallverbringungsgesetz) the German Plant Protection Act (Pflanzenschutzgesetz), the German Chemicals Act (Chemikaliengesetz) and various implementing regulations.

III. Risks of criminal liability despite official approval

With regard to the very far-reaching definition of unlawfulness under environmental law by European legislators (Article 3 (1), second and third sentences and Recital 10 of the EU Directive), the draft bill, however, sees no need for implementation.

Breaches of environmental law are only punishable if the underlying conduct is unlawful. According to the new EU directive, conduct is not only unlawful if it is carried out under an official authorisation, but if this authorisation was obtained fraudulently or by corruption, extortion or coercion (“abuse clause”, which is already largely covered by section 330d(1)( 5) of the Criminal Code). According to the EU Directive, conduct will also be unlawful if the authorisation was granted lawfully but “in manifest breach of relevant substantive legal requirements”. This very far‑reaching definition would mean that even conduct duly authorised by a valid administrative permit could nonetheless constitute a criminal offence, even where the permit holder had no culpability in connection with the granting of the permit. The possibility of imposing criminal liability in such cases under German law gives rise to constitutional concerns. However, the draft bill rightly sees no need for any adjustments in this regard, either in the Criminal Code or in the German Administrative Procedure Act (Verwaltungsverfahrensgesetz ‒ VwVfG). The principle required by the EU Directive ‒ that criminal liability should also arise in cases of an obvious breach of the relevant substantive legal requirements ‒ is already embedded in German law. Under section 44 (1) of the German Administrative Procedure Act, an administrative act is void if it suffers from a particularly serious defect which is manifest upon reasonable assessment of all relevant circumstances. This satisfies the requirement of “manifest illegality” under European law. A void administrative act does not constitute grounds for justification under criminal law either.

In practice, this means that companies must continually monitor their activities that could potentially harm the environment, even if such activities are covered by a valid administrative permit, to ensure they are not manifestly in breach of substantive law. Otherwise, senior management could face significant criminal liability, even if they had no culpable involvement in the granting of the “unlawful” permit.

IV. Higher fines for companies

The maximum fine for legal entities and associations of persons under section 30 (2), first  sentence of the German Administrative Offences Act (Ordnungswidrigkeitengesetz ‒ OWiG) is to be increased to €40 million (from the current €10 million) for intentional offences and to €20 million (from €5 million) for negligent offences. In the case of an administrative offence, the maximum fine will continue to be determined by the maximum fine imposed for that administrative offence.

V. Further procedure

The draft bill is currently in the consultation phase. The federal states and associations now have until 14 November 2025 to submit their comments. The Federal Ministry of Justice will then submit a revised version of the draft bill to the federal government for approval. If the federal cabinet approves this version, it will be introduced to the Bundestag as a government bill.

Conclusion and outlook

The legislative amendments proposed in the draft would in some cases bring about significant increases in penalties for certain environmentally relevant activities and projects. In addition, the quadrupled fines in section 30(2) of the Administrative Offences Act are intended to apply not only to intentional environmental crimes but also to any intentional offences for which a company can be held liable under section 30(1) of the Act. The draft therefore goes beyond the requirements of the EU Directive. It remains to be seen what modifications and possible limitations (which will certainly to be demanded from various quarters) will find their way into the final implementing legislation.