Rome, September 15, 2023
The Inspectorates of Justice of Italy, France, Portugal, Romania and Albania gathered in Rome, from September 13 to September 15, for the scheduled meeting of the COPEIJ project study program of the European Commission, “Cooperation for Environmental Protection through Justice Inspection Services”, under the auspices of the Italian Ministry of Justice and the Italian General Inspectorate of Justice.
The participants were welcomed and greeted by the Minister of Justice Mr. Carlo Nordio, the deputy Minister of Justice Mr. Francesco Paolo Sisto, as well as the head of the General Inspectorate of Justice Ms. Maria Rosaria Covelli, who presided over the sessions of the three-day program. In his greeting, Minister Nordio emphasized the need to make the environmental protection legislation, one of the best of modern times, homogeneous and balanced for all European countries, of course also by raising public awareness through correct, adequate and full communication.
The Italian experience in the fight against environmental crime and legal and institutional efforts to coordinate environmental protection was conveyed through senior officials of the Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, the Court of Cassation, the Prosecutor General and the anti-mafia magistrates, the State Advocate, the State Council, the High School of Magistracy, representatives of the academic world, the carabinieri section which deals with environmental protection and the coast guard, the unified commissioner for reclamation of landfills and the environmental association “Legambiente”.
This cycle of study programs is part of the activities of the European Network of Justice Inspection Services (RESIJ), part of which is the Office of the High Inspector of Justice with observer status, and as an environmental project financed by the European Commission, aims to make the participating countries identify critical issues and good practices in the field of environmental crimes, to then draft concrete proposals and solutions for improving the environmental situation and cooperation in Europe.
