Victims of illegal mining: criminal law and victimological aspects – the case of Serbia

Stevanović, Aleksandar (2025) Victims of illegal mining: criminal law and victimological aspects – the case of Serbia. In: Mineração, Direito Penal e Desastres Ambientais. Pedro & João Editores, Sao Carlos, pp. 161-188. ISBN 978-65-265-1954-7

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Abstract

The aim of the paper is to discuss some issues related to the criminal law and victimological aspects of environmental crime, especially when it comes to illegal mining. The first part of the paper is devoted to the consideration of the concept of environmental crime since there are still certain ambiguities and different approaches not only in the literature, but also in the normative framework. Within that discussion the normative and factual (criminological) status of environmental victims was deeply analyzed in order to verify the hypothesis that environmental harms need to be analyzed beyond the limitations of criminal law. However, particular focus was put on the (il)legal mining and victimization processes produced by its activities, as well as on the process of state routinization of those harmful activities within such activities are organized, enabled and misused. After we considered the basic criminological and victimological patterns for understanding and dealing with environmental crime, we presented the ongoing case in Republic of Serbia regarding the proposed exploitation of the Jadar Valley lithium deposit by the Rio Tinto Corporation. The intention of the paper is to share Serbian experience as a contribution for further consideration of this topic at the global level as well as to discuss some basic issues regarding environmental damage caused by (il)legal mining, as well as other issues related to control mechanisms under the criminal law.

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