Benefit to Business to Determine Fine?
A recent case, in which a company was convicted of tipping waste illegally, prompted a comment from Lord Justice Keene which should set alarm bells ringing for organisations which fail to comply with the laws on waste disposal.
The company involved had been successfully prosecuted for depositing waste unlawfully and was served with a notice to remove the waste from the land where it had been left. Eventually, the company successfully applied to the Divisional Court to overturn a decision of the Crown Court that the waste could not be treated where it was because the company had no authorisation to do so under a waste management licence.
However, in remitting the matter back to the Crown Court for reconsideration, LJ Keene commented that he would encourage the courts dealing with such prosecutions to ‘reflect in any financial penalty imposed the amount of commercial advantage which has been obtained by a person through the unlawful deposit of controlled waste’.
The company involved had been successfully prosecuted for depositing waste unlawfully and was served with a notice to remove the waste from the land where it had been left. Eventually, the company successfully applied to the Divisional Court to overturn a decision of the Crown Court that the waste could not be treated where it was because the company had no authorisation to do so under a waste management licence.
However, in remitting the matter back to the Crown Court for reconsideration, LJ Keene commented that he would encourage the courts dealing with such prosecutions to ‘reflect in any financial penalty imposed the amount of commercial advantage which has been obtained by a person through the unlawful deposit of controlled waste’.
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