CROATIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Ivan Gržić, TUS & GRŽIĆ
• infringement of copyright and related rights – unau - thorised reproduction, distribution or use of copy - righted works (so-called piracy); • infringement of industrial property rights – unau - thorised use of a patent, trade mark, industrial design or designation of origin; • unauthorised use of another’s company name or designation; and • unauthorised manufacture and placing on the mar - ket of counterfeit products (counterfeits). These offences cover typical forms of infringement such as counterfeiting of goods and piracy – ie, unau - thorised use of protected rights for the purpose of obtaining gain. 3.8 Greenwashing and Environmental Pollution Violations In the legal order of the Republic of Croatia, it is nec - essary to distinguish between greenwashing as a form of misleading business conduct and environmental criminal offences, expressly regulated in Chapter XX of the Criminal Code. Greenwashing is not a sepa - rate criminal offence, but giving false or misleading information about environmental characteristics may be relevant under consumer protection, competition, advertising and corporate reporting rules, and in cer - tain cases may constitute fraud under Article 236 CC if deception, intent and pecuniary damage are present. By contrast, the Criminal Code prescribes environ - mental offences, with the basic offence being environ - mental pollution under Article 193, covering discharge of substances or radiation capable of endangering air, soil, water or human health. Penalties range from six months to five years, or one to eight years in serious cases. Other related offences include: • discharge from vessels (Article 194); • endangering the ozone layer (Article 195); and • environmental harm from waste (Article 196), plants or facilities (Article 197), and radioactive substanc - es (Article 198). These offences involve conduct contrary to regula - tions with potentially serious consequences.
The Criminal Code also protects nature and biodi - versity in relation to destruction of protected parts of nature (Article 200), destruction of habitats (Article 201), trade in wild species (Article 202) and unlaw - ful introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or alien species (Article 203). Other covered conduct includes unlawful hunting and fishing, for - est devastation, alteration of water regimes, unlaw - ful mineral exploitation and construction in protected areas. Aggravated offences under Article 214 carry penalties up to 15 years, including imprisonment and confiscation of objects or unlawful gain, with possible mitigation in cases of effective remorse. Almost all offences are framed “contrary to regula - tions”, meaning criminal liability relies on special environmental legislation and EU law, including with respect to permits, environmental impact assess - ments, waste, water, air and nature protection. Green - washing is instead addressed through consumer protection, advertising and financial disclosure, super - vised by regulatory authorities. Enforcement is in the form of criminal proceedings for environmental offences by DORH and the police, administrative sanctions for regulatory breaches including misleading claims, and civil claims for dam - ages. Croatian law thus separates criminal liability for actual environmental harm from regulatory and civil liability for misleading environmental representations, with the two regimes complementing each other, thereby ensuring comprehensive criminal-law protec - tion of the environment. 4. Prosecution and Trial Process 4.1 Initiating a Prosecution For criminal offences prosecuted ex officio, including most offences in the field of financial crime, the State Attorney has exclusive authority to prosecute, apply - ing the relevant provisions of the Criminal Code and the CPA (CPA/08). On the basis of the results of preliminary inquiries and the investigation, the State Attorney may dismiss the criminal report or discontinue the prosecution, file an indictment, propose the issuance of a penal order or
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