The Criminal Law Protection of our Common Home

In his Encyclical Letter on Care for our Common Home (Laudato Si’), Pope Francis stated that air pollution, deficient waste management, climate change, desertification of soils, deterioration of water quality and loss of biodiversity are some of the main manifestations of the environmental crisis produced by a scheme of technocratic power, characterized by a deviant anthropocentrism. In fact, the growing awareness of the need to protect the environment has been decisive for the recognition of the human right to a healthy environment, the legislative development of legal tools for environmental protection and the conclusion of international agreements on this matter. Criminal law has been part of this regulatory evolution on the assumption that, although it is not able to solve such complex problems alone, nonetheless it should not fail to address the violation of the essential legal interests at stake.

This volume brings together major contributions to the 7th AIDP Symposium for Young Penalists (Rome, 11-12 November 2019), organised by the AIDP Young Penalists Committee in collaboration with the Italian AIDP National Group and Luiss University, Rome. The conclusions of the Symposium were presented during the XXth International Congress of Penal Law in the session dedicated to ‘Corporate Criminal Law and Environmental Protection’.