ABSTRACT
In modern times, as society has become increasingly intolerant of damage to the environment, criminal prosecutions for pollution from ships have become increasingly common.
This increase results partly from growth in the volume of regulations to protect the marine environment, most of which provide for their enforcement by penal sanctions; and partly from greater rigour on the part of states, particularly coastal states most vulnerable to pollution, in monitoring compliance with the law and in taking measures against suspected offenders. Details of these regulations, and the range of measures by which they may be enforced, are discussed in earlier chapters; this chapter is concerned specifically with various issues which may arise when they are enforced by criminal proceedings instituted against alleged offenders.1
