The UCL Centre for Law & the Environment and UKELA today held a day-long seminar at UCL’s Faculty of Law

The UCL Centre for Law & the Environment and UKELA today held a day-long seminar at UCL’s Faculty of Law entitled “The new system of Environmental Enforcement and Sanctions: From Principle into Practice”.

James Maurici spoke on the role of the European Convention on Human Rights in relation to civil sanctions.

Other speakers included Oliver Lewtin MP, Minister of State, Cabinet Office; Professor Richard Macrory; Judge Nick Warren, President of the General Regulatory Chamber.

The seminar coincided with a Government statement on civil sanctions :

“when considering whether to make Orders under the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 to provide a regulator with powers to impose certain civil sanctions as an alternative to prosecution the Government will, in general, observe the following principles:

• Powers to impose Fixed Monetary Penalties, Variable Monetary Penalties and Restoration Notices will, as a general rule, only be granted where their used is restricted to undertakings with more than 250 employees; and
• Powers to impose Enforcement Undertakings, Stop Notices and Compliance Notices may be granted without restriction as to the size of undertaking against whom they might be used.”

James Maurici has written several times on civil sanctions: Aarhus access to justice and civil sanctions update E.L.M. 2011, 23(4), 170-198; Rethinking regulatory sanctions: Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008 - an exchange of letters (with Richard Macrory) E.L.M. 2009, 21(4), 183-188 and Possible legal issues arising under the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008: lessons to be learnt from the Alphasteel greenhouse gas emissions trading penalty appeal Env. Law 2008, 48, 2-10 (with Richard Turney). James acted for the Environment Agency in the Alphasteel case.