Historical Pollution and the Prominence of Criminal Law Enforcement in Italy

The chapter is dedicated to the Italian system and focuses on the criminal enforcement of historical pollution, which is presented within the legal regime and critically discussed. Due to the lack of “tailor-made” regulation and of pertinent crimes, in order to tackle cases of historical pollution, case law has often recurred to extensive interpretation mainly of felonies conceived to protect public safety. However, such a choice represents the infringement of fundamental principles and the debasement of legal rules. In this respect, issues concerning causation, mens rea, the extension of the range of responsible parties, and the statute of limitation are discussed. Several snapshots are finally presented on the new legal regime which has introduced several felonies explicitly dedicated to environmental protection. The author opines that, in the absence of consistent case law, it is doubtful whether the new legal tools—although innovative—can guarantee greater effectiveness in respect of criminal enforcement, since the legal provisions do not fit the basic traits of historical pollution.