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Sanctioning environmental offenses committed by companies: the joint use of firm and employee sanctions

Author

Listed:
  • Dietrich Earnhart

    (University of Kansas)

  • Sandra Rousseau

    (Faculty of Economics and Business KU Leuven)

Abstract

Violations of environmental regulations often involve multiple parties since companies, as well as employees of the companies, face regulatory obligations and can expend compliance-enhancing effort. When deterring such violations by punishing violators, court judges must determine which party or parties to punish with sanctions. Our study explores such sanction decisions made by Belgian judges in response to environmental offenses and the defendants’ intent to comply as captured by three key Belgian legal elements reflecting culpability: purpose, willingness, and knowledge. Our empirical results reveal that the three culpability factors play strong roles in shaping judges’ sanction decisions, especially the relative use of firm sanctions and employee sanctions. As important, our empirical results strongly demonstrate that judges appear to perceive firm and employee sanctions as complements.

Suggested Citation

  • Dietrich Earnhart & Sandra Rousseau, 2024. "Sanctioning environmental offenses committed by companies: the joint use of firm and employee sanctions," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 71-118, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:ejlwec:v:58:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s10657-024-09806-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10657-024-09806-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environmental protection laws; Enforcement; Sanctions; Penalties; Fines;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K32 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Energy, Environmental, Health, and Safety Law
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

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