1. The main principles of civil, administrative and criminal liability

1.1 Different liability regimes

Those responsible for environmental damage can be held liable under three different regimes: administrative, civil and criminal.

In order to understand these different regimes, a number of factors need to be taken into particular consideration:

• the purpose of the liability sought: repression or reparation ;

• the basis of liability: no-fault or fault ;

• the person being sued: public or private ;

• the competent judge (administrative, civil or criminal) ;

• the consequences of the liability incurred: imprisonment, payment of damages or other protective measures...