환경형법 벌칙규정의 문제점

A Critical Review of the Punishment Clauses of Environment Law

Clearly the environmental crime is becoming more important in these days. Korea has so many different kinds of environment laws with punishing clauses and also special law that has aggravated punishment against some environmental crimes. However, we cannot call these laws “environmental criminal law”, because, in fact, they serve only as a ancillary means for environment administration. Furthermore, both the applying frequency and the intensity of these punishment are not high. The reason is various and complex, but, this essay emphasizes the deficiency of stern attitude of the environment officers, the investigators and the court. This essay, under the above actual restriction, aims to propose some improving alternatives of punishing clause of environment law. Firstly, too severe punishment of the special law should be alleviated in practical way. Secondly, the punishment against the corporation, in adverse, should be aggravated and separated with that of the final actor. Thirdly, the responsibility of the high officers of the corporation should be incorporated into the law. Finally, some punishing clauses which are unnecessary as a criminal law should be converted to administrative or inbetween criminal and administrative sanction. This essay, especially, put the strong emphasize on the third point, because the punishment of the high officers have seldom been accomplished so far. Moreover, negligence and omission of the officers is theoretically disputable, the responsibility and the duty of management and supervision should be enacted.