ABSTRACT
The aim of the paper is to examine the global dynamics of how authorities engage with environmental human rights defenders within the criminal justice system and to determine whether the actions taken by the authorities in this field are necessary, or do they constitute the misuse of the criminal justice systems in order to silence and discourage those who demand changes in the current policies. Such issues as main criminalisation forms, misuse of precautionary measures, issuance of new anti-protest laws, smear campaigns and detrimental language are analysed. The effects of criminalisation on the environmental human rights defenders and their surroundings, considering its implications for global environmental rights discourse, are succinctly addressed. The author analyses legal regulations, official reports, the literature and websites in order to establish what actions are taken by the authorities and whether they are proportional to the defenders’ activity. The empirical method is used to observe the methods implemented by the particular states and their consequences for global advocacy.
