Recital 26

(26) Where this Directive provides that an unlawful conduct only constitutes a criminal offence where it is carried out intentionally and causes the death of a person, the notion of ‘intention’ should be interpreted in accordance with national law, taking into account relevant case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (the ‘Court of Justice’).Therefore, for the purposes of this Directive, ‘intention’ could be understood as the intention to cause the death of a person, or it could also cover a situation in which the offender, despite not wanting to cause the death of a person, nevertheless accepts the likelihood of causing it, and acts, or refrains from acting, voluntarily and in violation of a particular obligation, thereby causing the death of a person. The same understanding as regards the notion of ‘intention’ should apply where unlawful conduct described in this Directive, which is intentional, causes serious injury to any person, or the destruction of, or widespread and substantial damage which is either irreversible or long-lasting to, an ecosystem of considerable size or environmental value or a habitat within a protected site, or causes widespread and substantial damage which is either irreversible or long-lasting to the quality of air, soil, or water.

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Source: EUR-Lex CELLAR · retrieved 2026-09-04 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.