Please join INECE, ELI and the National Whistleblower Center for our upcoming webinar on Enforcing Maritime Laws: the Role of Private Citizens
DESCRIPTION
Whistleblowers and NGOs can potentially play a large roll in enforcing global ocean pollution laws. According to a statistical analysis conducted by the National Whistleblower Center, the United States obtained over $270 million in sanctions from 100 polluters and paid 206 whistleblowers a total of more than $33 million in rewards under the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS). Additionally, over $63 million was ordered by courts to be used for beneficial purposes in fighting ocean pollution. More can be done to raise awareness about how whistleblower laws can serve the interests of NGOs and other conservationists who witness criminal activities.
The panel will show how insiders play an important role in uncovering these marine crimes. These insiders, often referred to as whistleblowers are essential to alerting authorities of APPS violations. The possibility of collecting up to half the fine is a strong incentive for whistleblowers to come forward with information and has proved advantageous to marine conservation but many whistleblowers fear retaliation and exposing their identity. The persons best positioned to uncover ocean violations and be the enforcers are the crew members. NGOs are on the front lines, and with their vast network of representatives are able to play a major role in enforcing whistleblowers laws.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Stephen M. Kohn serves pro bono as the Chairman of the National Whistleblower Center. He has represented whistleblowers for over 30 years, successfully setting numerous precedents that have helped define modern whistleblower law and obtained the largest reward ever paid to an individual whistleblower ($104 million for exposing illegal offshore bank accounts), and has published numerous books on whistleblower law, including The New Whistleblower’s Handbook, the seminal guide to all things whistleblower today.
Anton DeStefano, Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Coast Guard, Environmental Law Division(invited)
Joseph Poux, Deputy Chief, Environmental Crimes Section of Department of Justice, Chair, INTERPOL Pollution Crime Working Group
Xiao Recio-Blanco, Director of Ocean Program, Environmental Law Institute, Managing Director, International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Secretariat, Moderator
RSVP
This event is open to the public, but advanced registration is required. Materials from this INECE-NWC presentation will be made available after the webinar to anyone who pre-registers for the event. The event will take place on April 16 at 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. EST featuring experts from INTERPOL, NWC, INECE, and the US Coast Guard.
REGISTER HERE no later than April 12 to attend the webinar.
