IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| DLA Piper, | |
| Empty threat: does the law combat illegal wildlife trade? An eleven-country review of legislative and judicial approaches | |
| 2014 Full Book | |
In 1975, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) entered into force through ratification or accession by ten countries. Today, 179 countries are Parties to CITES, and yet illegal trade in wildlife has continued to proliferate to the point where it ranks behind only illegal trafficking in drugs, guns and human beings in the value of the illegal trade. Each of the 179 Contracting Parties has some form of principal domestic legislation implementing CITES and setting out offences relating to the illegal trade in wildlife which are subject to prosecution through some form of domestic judicial process. Many Contracting Parties also have ancillary legislation that can be used to prosecute illegal trade in wildlife. Examples include legislation with respect to money laundering, illegal use of weapons and anti-corruption legislation. Numerous factors are often cited as drivers of the proliferation of illegal trade in wildlife including wealth, poverty and cultural demand. Strong principal and ancillary legislation and enforcement through an effective judicial process act as deterrents to this criminal activity. By contrast, weak or limited legislation enforced on a haphazard basis by a judiciary with limited experience or capacity to prosecute not only fails to deter but furthers an environment where those engaging in such activity are emboldened. Notwithstanding the number of contracting parties to CITES, work still needs to be done to strengthen legislation around the world and improve prosecutorial and judicial capacity and processes. DLA Piper was engaged by the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry (the "Royal Foundation") on behalf of the United for Wildlife partnership to review and evaluate the state of legislation and judicial processes with respect to illegal trade in wildlife in eleven countries: Botswana, Cameroon, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Malaysia, the Philippines, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda and Vietnam. A team of 55 lawyers from 15 DLA Piper Offices around the world reviewed and analysed the relevant principal and ancillary legislation and domestic prosecutorial and judicial processes, using this information to produce a report for each country. |
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