Offences under EU Ship Recycling Regulation 1257/2013
Enforcement provisions (Art 22) and main challenges for implementation/enforcement
Member States should lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of SRR and ensure that those penalties are applied to prevent circumvention of ship recycling rules. The penalties, which may be of a civil or administrative nature (SRR Preamble para. 17). The Member States are required to lay down provisions on sanctions applicable to infringements of the Regulation and take all the measures necessary to ensure that they are applied. Once again, the penalties provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
According to the preamble to the SRR, penalties should be of a civil or administrative nature, but the choice of penalties is a matter for the Member States. Penalties must be commensurate with the seriousness of the infringements for which they are imposed, in particular by ensuring a genuinely deterrent effect (CJEU C-418/11, Texdata Software), should reflect the “polluter pays” principle, also penalties should respect the principle of proportionality (CJEU C-210/10, Urban). We can find different penalties across the Member States. For example, in Ireland there is a fine of up to € 300,000 for breaching obligations under the SRR, in the Czech Republic it is almost € 400,000, and in the UK or Malta the offender faces up to 2 years in prison.