Administrative Fines in Europe: A Quest for Effectiveness?

The paper explores the legislative trend of using administrative fines – formally non-criminal monetary sanctions – to combat infringements of economic legislation. It is often claimed that administrative fines are more effective than criminal penalties and that administrative fine provisions should therefore replace or complement criminal provisions. The paper analyses what effectiveness-related argumentation has been presented in preparatory works, and discusses how that argumentation compares to relevant social scientific insights (from sociolegal studies, economic analysis of law, and criminology). We examine preparatory works from the EU and from three Nordic countries: Sweden, Norway, and Finland. These Nordic countries have seen major reforms which remain little-known in broader European discussions.

Effectiveness can be divided to purpose-rationality – here, the ability to prevent infringements – and cost-efficiency. The purpose-rationality of sanctions depends on the probability and severity of sanctioning. Administrative fines should improve probability due to various reasons, while severity and cost-efficiency are more ambiguous factors.


The motivations presented by the EU legislature have often been abstract and one-sided. However, travaux preparatoires of the 2024 Environmental Crime Directive properly discuss the entire criminal enforcement chain, which is a promising sign. In Nordic countries, some preparatory works have featured rather elaborate argumentation where empirical data is utilized along with common-sense argumentation.