6.5. The assessment of the punishment
Until January 1, 2015, a fine was the only sanction available for breach of the Pollution Act Section 79 Subsection 3. However, the lawmaker held that cross border transport of waste was such a serious environmental problem, that imprisonment up to 2 years was introduced as an additional available sanction.
The Court’s starting point was that the appropriate punishment for Mr. A’s contribution was 9 months imprisonment, but because of extenuating circumstances (i.a., the time elapsed from 2016/2017 to the date of decision) the periodof imprisonment was set at 6 months.