Recently, the phenomenon of criminals engaged in waste management in Sweden has been highlighted. They undertake to take care of waste but, instead of complying with existing regulations, they dispose of the waste in ways that pollute the environment.

When prison sentences and damages are imposed, the criminals lack the means to pay for the remediation of the environment, and thus the environment can be said to be bankrupt. Dr. Jonatan Schytzer of the Faculty of Law at Uppsala University is looking for answers on how to change the regulatory framework to avoid this situation.

The research project will clarify the legal conditions under which environment-related claims are compensated in a bankruptcy and thus identify possible solutions to the social problem. This involves both bankruptcy law aspects and aspects at a general level. Can fundamental changes to the legal system, such as the introduction of a remediation insurance system, mean that the environment does not need to be declared bankrupt?

Research supported by the Torsten Söderberg Foundation.