Administrative responsibility in environmental law. Administrative environmental violations. Types of environmental offenses

Makarova Anastasia Sergeevna, student, Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education "Orenburg" State University", Orenburg [email protected]

Administrative responsibility for environmental offenses

Abstract. This article defines the concept of administrative liability applied for environmental violations. The essence of administrative responsibility and its features is revealed. Classifications are given for the list of administrative offenses in the field of security environment and environmental management and types of punishment for these offenses. It also identifies the main functions of administrative responsibility for violation of environmental legislation. Key words: administrative responsibility, offense, administrative offense, code of administrative offenses, environmental legislation.

Currently, the extraction and processing of mineral raw materials is the basis of the Russian economy. Scientific and technological progress and increased anthropogenic influence on the natural environment lead to an aggravation of the environmental situation in the country: pollution natural environment, depletion of natural resources, deterioration of public health, etc. In this regard, one of the most current problems is the protection of the natural environment. Every year the number of environmental violations increases. Environmental violations lead to unfavorable changes in the field of environmental protection and natural resource management. The law does not provide a precise definition of the concept of an environmental violation. But most often, any illegal, guilty action or inaction of an individual or legal entity that does not comply with environmental legal norms and for which the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation or the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation provides for administrative liability is taken as an administrative environmental offense. Administrative liability is a multidimensional and multifaceted category of administrative law. It requires the most in-depth and complete study, according to for many reasons: Firstly, administrative responsibility is a type of state coercion controlled by administrative legal norms. Understanding the legal nature of administrative responsibility, the ability to compare measures of administrative responsibility with other types of administrative legal coercion is the most important task administrative law, administrative law science and legal practice.

Secondly, legal norms establishing measures of administrative responsibility, elements of administrative offenses, and the procedure for using measures of administrative responsibility constitute a separate part of administrative law, called the institution of administrative responsibility. Knowledge of the institution of administrative responsibility in equally necessary when exercising state supervision in various areas: taxation, environmental protection, road safety, fire safety, etc.

Thirdly, administrative responsibility finds its external expression in the course of proceedings in cases of administrative offenses, which are carried out by joint actions of bodies and officials of the executive branch, local government, and judges. Professor A.B. Agapov believes that “administrative liability is coercive measures applied to a (individual, legal) person guilty of committing an administrative offense, limiting the property (non-property) rights of the violator or establishing additional responsibilities” Professor D.M. .Ovsyanko understands administrative responsibility as “the application of penalties for administrative offenses by relevant bodies and officials in order to have an educational impact on the offender and other persons.” Having summarized the most common definitions of administrative responsibility, it can be defined as a type of legal responsibility, which is expressed in the appointment by a body or official a person vested with the appropriate powers, administrative punishment to an individual or legal entity that has committed an administrative offense. The concept of an administrative offense is contained in Art. 2.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation: “An administrative offense is an unlawful, guilty action (inaction) of an individual or legal entity, for which this Code or the laws of the constituent entities Russian Federation administrative liability has been established for administrative offenses.” Administrative liability is characterized by:  firstly, the presence of its own legal framework governing various aspects law enforcement bodies of state power and local self-government;  secondly, it is of a universal nature, that is, its norms and rules are binding on all persons, both individuals and legal entities;  thirdly, it is appointed only for administrative offenses. The fundamental principles of administrative responsibility are: 1) the principle of legality ;2) the principle of the inevitability of responsibility; 3) the principle of individualization of responsibility; 4) the principle of justice; 5) the principle of the presumption of innocence (consists in the fact that a person against whom proceedings are being conducted for an administrative offense is considered innocent until he is guilty proven in the manner prescribed by the Code of Administrative Offences, and established by a decision of the judge, body, official who considered the case that has entered into legal force.) 6) the principle of expediency (assumes compliance of the chosen measure of administrative legal influence with the goals of administrative responsibility) 7) the principle of humanism (consists in that the punishment should not humiliate human dignity, his honor and other natural rights and freedoms of a person) Administrative liability in the field of environmental offenses occurs only for the commission of an act containing a specific element of an administrative offense. Unlike other types of legal liability, it is of a supra-departmental nature. The peculiarity of administrative liability in the field of natural resource management and environmental protection is as follows:  the subject of an environmental offense is considered to be the totality of social relations developing in the sphere of use and protection of subsoil, lands, waters, forests, atmospheric air, and also flora and fauna;  occurs only for specific offenses defined in legislation as administrative;  administrative liability for environmental offenses provides for a warning, an administrative fine, confiscation of the instrument of committing an administrative offense, administrative arrest, administrative suspension of activities, withdrawal of a license to use resources , compensation for damage caused to the natural environment, and administrative expulsion for foreign citizens and stateless persons;  administrative liability is imposed on both citizens of the Russian Federation and foreign citizens, stateless persons, as well as officials and legal entities;  applied in accordance with the competence of the special authorized body or official;  in accordance with Article 3. 2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, only penalties provided for by law can be applied, but Article 2.9 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides for the possibility of exemption from them if the offense is insignificant. Bringing to administrative responsibility for environmental offenses does not relieve the guilty person from the obligation to compensate for environmental damage (harm). This is explained by the fact that although the fine is of a material nature and is a measure of punishment, and not compensation for harm: the corresponding amount of the fine does not go to the victim for compensation for harm, but is sent in accordance with the law to the budget or special accounts of environmental funds. The amount of the administrative fine imposed for citizens, ranges from three to twenty minimum wages (minimum wage); for officials from 3 to 200 minimum wages; for legal entities from 100 minimum wages. In Ch. 8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation “Administrative offenses in the field of environmental protection and natural resource management” includes a number of articles providing for administrative liability for environmental offenses. The list of administrative offenses in the field of environmental protection and natural resource management can be conditionally classified according to various criteria. According to the types of natural resources that are damaged, they are divided into the following groups: 1) in the field of environmental information (Article 8.1, 8.4, 8.5, 8.40); 2) protection of lands (Articles 8.6,8.7,8.8);

3) protection of subsoil (Articles 8.9, 8.10, 8.11);

4) protection of atmospheric air (Article 8.21.);

5) security water resources(Art. 8.12–8.20.);

6) forest protection (Article 8.24–8.32.);

7) protection of wildlife (Articles 8.33–8.38.);

8) disposal of production waste (Articles 8.2,8.19);

9)in the area Agriculture(Article 8.3);

in the field of transport (Article 8.22, 8.23). It can also be divided into the following groups:  The first group consists of offenses establishing liability for violation of basic environmental legal norms, which apply to all institutions of environmental law. These requirements include: Article 8.4. Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation “Violation of the legislation on environmental impact assessment”; Article 8.5. Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation “Concealment or distortion of environmental information”, Article 8.41. “Failure to pay fees on time negative impact on the environment”, Article 8.46. “Failure to fulfill or untimely fulfillment of the obligation to submit an application for state registration of objects that have a negative impact on the environment, to provide information to update registration information”  The second category includes offenses that establish liability for violation of rules for the protection of individual natural objects. Such as damage to land (Article 8.6 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation); Violation of rules for the protection of water bodies (Article 8.13. Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation); Violation of rules for the protection of atmospheric air (Article 8.21. Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation); Violation of the rules for the use of forests (Article 8.25 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation); Violation of the rules for the protection of aquatic biological resources (Article 8.38 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation); Violation of the rules for protecting the habitat or migration routes of wildlife and aquatic biological resources (Article 8.33 of the Code of Administrative Offences);  The third group includes the elements of the offense that determine responsibility for failure to comply with the legal order of lands with a special environmental and legal status. For example, Article 8.7 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation “Failure to fulfill obligations for land reclamation, mandatory measures to improve land and protect soils”;  The fourth group includes offenses due to failure to comply with conditions in the field of environmental protection on the farm or other activities. These include non-compliance with environmental and sanitary-epidemiological requirements when handling production and consumption waste, substances that destroy the ozone layer, or other hazardous substances (Article 8.2. Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation); Violation of the regime for carrying out economic and other activities within the boundaries of flood zones, flooding (Article 8.44 of the Administrative Code); Violation of the rules for the operation of water management or water protection structures and devices (Article 8.15 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation); Unauthorized use of forests, violation of the rules for the use of forests for agriculture, destruction of forest resources (Article 8.26. Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). etc. Administrative responsibility for environmental crimes carries out several key functions:  stimulating compliance with environmental legal norms;  compensatory, aimed at compensating for losses in the environment and compensation for damage to human health;  preventive, ensuring the prevention of new crimes;  punitive, consisting in punishing the perpetrator for committing environmental offenses. In addition to Chapter 8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation on the commission of environmental offenses, the Federal Law of the Russian Federation of January 10, 2002 “On Environmental Protection” (Article 75), the Federal Law of the Russian Federation of March 30, 1999, is provided. “On the sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population” (Article 55), Land Code of the Russian Federation of October 25, 2001 (Article 74), Forest Code of the Russian Federation of January 29, 1997 (Article NO), Water Code of the Russian Federation of November 16, 1995 . (Article 130), the Law of the Russian Federation of February 21, 1992 “On Subsoil” (Article 49) and others. These articles list the types of legal liability, including administrative, for non-compliance with environmental legislation. Failure to comply with environmental legislation, as well as failure to comply with rules for protecting the natural environment, is today considered extremely dangerous, in connection with this legislation provides for violations in this area various types of legal liability depending on guilt, the level of environmental threat, as well as environmental risk.

Current legislation provides for liability for environmental offenses committed in the field of use of natural reserves and environmental conservation. In accordance with laws and regulations, they are identified as independent offenses and crimes.

Concept

Environmental offenses or crimes are actions or inactions that contradict the established requirements of environmental legal norms. In practice, this is expressed as a guilty illegal environmentally unsafe or harmful action that encroaches on established procedures in the field of environmental safety in the use of natural resources and environmental protection.

Environmental offenses are characterized by causing environmental harm when carrying out illegal actions.

The essence of the concept is reflected in the fact that the offender took any actions or inactions in relation to factors that led to changes in the state of the natural environment, as well as the commission of offenses defined by environmental legislation.

The concept of an environmental offense in its content defines certain illegal actions that should be punished. For such violations, in accordance with the law, criminal, administrative, disciplinary and civil liability is provided.

Types of environmental offenses

There are 3 types of environmental violations. This:

• Committed by the legal owners of natural resources.
• Committed by nature users.
• Committed by persons who do not belong to any of these subgroups.

The next criterion is the state of natural objects in relation to which environmental violations have been identified. This:

• Damage.
• Destruction.
• Causing damage.

According to the object of encroachment, types of environmental offenses are distinguished into: mountain, land, water, forest.

Classification

If the offense includes objects of encroachment from a group of homogeneous offenses, the following classification takes place:

• Illegal destruction and damage natural resources, such as pollution, water contamination, destruction of forest areas, significant damage to agricultural land.
• Violation and disregard of the rules for the transfer of ownership of natural resources associated with the possibility of causing damage to the environment. Such violations include the introduction into operation of technical structures and enterprises that cause damage to the environment.
• Inaction or failure to comply with established rules for the conservation of natural resources.
• Deliberate use of various natural resources for one's own selfish purposes. For example, collecting wild rare plants.

Corpus delicti

An environmental offense includes the following actions:

• Clogging or depletion of groundwater and sources, causing harm to them, resulting in a change in their natural qualities. Especially if it poses a danger to the surrounding animal and plant environment.
• Violation of the standards for permissible emissions of various harmful substances into the atmosphere or improper operation of technical devices and structures, resulting in pollution or changes in the properties of the air.
• Pollution of seas and water sources due to the discharge of substances and materials that have a harmful effect on human health or other living resources.
• Poisoning or contamination of land areas with harmful products economic activity due to improper use and application of fertilizers or pesticides, as well as those arising from careless transportation.
• Destruction or damage to natural or artificially created forest resources as a result of improper or careless handling of fire or other sources of potential danger.
• Illegal deforestation or destruction of certain types of plant parts, committed on a significant scale, disturbing the overall balance of the natural environment.
• Illegal hunting or extermination of animals, causing damage to large sizes, as well as with the use of vehicles or explosives, poisonous gases used against the fauna of forests and nature reserves.
• Illegal fishing of fish or marine mammals, as well as vegetation, if they cause major damage and are carried out using self-propelled vehicles, chemicals or explosives.
• Logging, construction of illegal building structures (dams, bridges), if they entailed mass death of fish and other creatures of the aquatic environment.
• Production of waste harmful to the environment, its improper transportation and storage, as well as disposal through release into the environment.
• Illegal or careless handling of radioactive materials.
• Violation of safety standards and sanitary rules established by current federal legislation.

Responsibility for environmental violations

The rules established by current legislation regarding the prevention, detection and suppression of violations in the field of nature conservation are also a method of control. Responsibility for committing environmental offenses is assigned during legal proceedings or can be determined by regulatory services.

Environmental control is carried out not only by the state and is divided into several types:

• State.
• Industrial.
• Public.
• Municipal.
• General.

Each of these types of control is carried out for the purposes of:

• Monitoring by individuals and legal entities of compliance with environmental legislation and its norms.
• Compliance with all provided requirements and regulatory documents.
• Ensuring environmental safety and security of the natural environment.

Thus, environmental supervision is one of the means of managing the protection of the natural environment and:

• carried out by special bodies and persons of the environmental inspection on behalf of the state;
• is of a supra- and non-departmental nature;
• is one of the functions of environmental management of the state;
• associated with the use of various administrative coercive measures.

Types of liability for environmental offenses

State control is carried out on the basis of the legal framework by special government agencies, empowered and called upon to provide regular and systematic environmental supervision.

Production control is carried out to ensure the execution of economic processes or production activities, as well as various activities aimed at protecting the natural environment and rational use of its resources. Business entities provide information about the organization to executive authorities, which conduct regular inspections in the manner prescribed by law. Such control is carried out by the environmental service of a legal entity, which acts exactly in accordance with the letter of the law and whose function is aimed at eliminating the negative consequences of the organization’s production activities. Criminal or administrative liability is applied to the enterprise and its managers, and disciplinary liability is applied to employees for environmental violations.

Municipal control is carried out in the entrusted territory by local self-government bodies in the manner prescribed by law, in accordance with regulations.

Legal liability

Types of liability for environmental violations: disciplinary, administrative or material, and also in the case of crimes – criminal. Bringing to any type of such liability does not exempt the subject from compensation for damage caused and other types of monetary penalties and compensation.

Subjects subject to criminal, disciplinary and financial liability can only be individuals. While administrative liability for environmental violations, as well as civil liability, occurs for individuals and legal entities.

According to current legislation, persons over 16 years of age can be held accountable. According to civil proceedings, minors have limited liability from 15 to 18 years of age. And upon reaching adulthood - full.

Criminal liability for environmental offenses occurs in the case of a completed crime and cannot be awarded for an attempt to commit it or preparation, as well as an attempted crime if it has not been completed.

List of crimes

In accordance with the Criminal Code, the following environmental crimes are subject to punishment:

• Violation of the rules for the safe use of microbiological agents or toxins, resulting in harm to people's health, the spread of various epidemics, as well as serious consequences, including the death of a person.
• Deviation from the norms of veterinary activities, resulting in the spread of epizootics or other serious consequences that are in the nature of an epidemic and cover entire livestock over large territorial areas.
• Violation of the rules established for the protection of fish stocks, resulting in the massive death of fish populations or other aquatic creatures, as well as significant destruction of their food reserves.
• Destruction of habitats of animals and organisms that are listed in the Red Book.
• Violation of the established regime of territories or objects under protection and causing significant damage to these natural resources.
• Violation of established rules as a consequence of carrying out production activities or performing other work that entailed a change in radiation levels and caused damage to human health or the mass destruction of populations of animals and other organisms.
• Violation of methods and rules for storage and disposal of harmful compounds and waste that can pose a threat to people or the natural environment and lead to pollution and poisoning that harms human health or leads to the mass destruction of animals. And also if they were committed in areas with an environmental emergency or disaster and resulted in the death of a person or mass epidemics.
• Pollution of water resources resulting in damage to fish stocks, animals and flora, as well as nearby forest or agricultural lands, especially if harm was caused to a person’s health or death occurred.

• Atmospheric pollution through the release of toxic substances into the air, causing serious consequences.
• Damage to land that has resulted in significant damage to natural resources, animals and people living in these areas.
• Violation of established rules for the protection and use of subsoil, including illegal mining of minerals or violation of rules for their use or construction, causing irreversible damage to the environment.
• Illegal hunting aimed at causing major damage or extermination of populations of animals and birds, as well as carried out on the territory of nature reserves or sanctuaries.
• Illegal cutting of trees and shrubs, which has led to the extinction or threat of extinction of certain species.
• Destruction of forest plantations and tracts as a result of careless use of fire.

Onset of administrative liability

Administrative liability for environmental offenses occurs in accordance with the commission of illegal actions intentionally or through negligence.

Violators of administrative proceedings are subject to penalties in the form of fines, warnings, confiscation, confiscation of weapons and deprivation of special rights of individuals to carry out a certain type of activity in connection with which the damage was caused.

The list of violations fully corresponds to criminal offenses with the difference that administrative environmental offenses did not cause harm to human health or did not lead to the destruction of plant and animal resources, but, nevertheless, caused significant damage or were aimed at achieving certain criminal offenses, but were not fully implemented.

Environmental assessment

To identify and establish violations and crimes, an environmental assessment is created, which is aimed at preventing and identifying adverse impacts on the environment. Legal liability for environmental violations occurs based on the results of its implementation.

State examination can only be carried out by the federal executive branch. All types of urban planning documentation for various projects, regardless of their purpose and application, must undergo mandatory environmental impact assessment, in accordance with the clauses of the federal law “On Environmental Impact Assessment”. If inconsistencies are identified, legal liability for environmental violations arises.

Expertise of the environmental situation is based on the principles:

• Identification of potential environmental hazards to the natural environment from any planned economic and other types of activity.
• The obligation to conduct an examination before making decisions on the construction and implementation of the project for which it is aimed.
• Comprehensive assessment of interactions or consequences for nature from economic or other activities.
• Obligation to take into account the requirements provided during the environmental assessment and their implementation.
• Reliability and completeness of the information provided.
• Independence of expert opinion of environmental impact assessment.
• The scientific accuracy and validity of the conclusions drawn and the legality of the conclusions provided based on the results of the environmental assessment.
• Publicity of the results.
• The responsibility of the examination participants for its organization and high-quality execution.

Legal liability for environmental violations may arise as a result of an expert opinion when violations of current norms and regulations are identified. Depending on what kind of violations were committed, the method and type of liability awarded is determined.

Disciplinary liability for environmental violations is provided in the form of a severe reprimand or a reprimand in a personal file. As well as the dismissal of an official or employee of the organization.

Issues of preserving the environment, as well as flora and fauna, should become the concern of not only regulatory authorities, but also of each individual. This is especially true for economic facilities and enterprises operating in entrusted territories. Caring for the environment is not limited to caring for your own garden plot. While implementing your professional activity We should never forget that by preserving the environment, we give a future to our children.

Responsibility for various environmental types is provided for by law. These violations include not only environmental damage, but also irrational use of natural resources.

Regardless of citizenship, offenders can be both individuals and legal entities. For environmental violations, the legislation provides for various types of liability, one of which is administrative.

Administrative liability is incurred for environmental violations

Any action, as well as inaction, that does not comply with existing environmental and legal standards is considered an environmental violation. In reality, such actions are unsafe or harmful and violate established environmental safety procedures.

The rules provided regulate the use of natural resources and are created to protect the environment. For all actions or inactions that cause a change in the state of the natural environment, certain penalties are provided.

There are four types of liability for environmental violations, each of which is established by law:

• disciplinary liability
• civil liability

Depending on the object in relation to which the unlawful action was carried out, environmental violations are divided into land, water, forest and mountain. State natural object, which has undergone change as a result of an environmental crime, is one of the criteria used to determine the severity of the illegal act. There are three such states:

1. damage
2. damage
3. destruction

Depending on the relation of the offender to natural resources, three types of environmental violations can be distinguished:

• produced by the owner of natural resources
• produced by the user of these resources
• produced by a person who does not belong to the previously identified subgroups

To establish an offense, a special environmental one is used. Its purpose is to prevent and identify various negative influences on environmental safety. The results of the examination determine the legal liability of the offender for a particular environmental violation.

On state level such an examination can be carried out exclusively by representatives of the federal executive branch. In particular, all projects of urban planning documentation are subject to environmental protection. If during the inspection any discrepancy with the norms established by law is discovered, legal liability will be imposed on the violator.

Environmental offenses are various actions or inactions taken by a violator, as a result of which the condition of some natural object is disturbed. To determine the presence and severity of environmental violations, special expertise is used.

Classification of administrative environmental offenses

Environmental violations are also subject to legal liability!

Legal responsibility for each offense committed implies some punishment. Thus, legal responsibility has four fundamental purposes:

• preventive - helps to avoid repeated harm to the environment
• stimulating - inclines the violator and others to properly comply with the laws in the future
• compensatory - restores damage caused to nature
• punitive - punishes in a certain way the person who committed the offense

The number of administrative offenses that cause harm to the environment includes up to forty types of environmental offenses. In practice, they are divided into three groups:

1. non-compliance with environmental requirements
2. non-compliance with the rules and procedures for the exploitation of natural objects and resources
3. causing harm or complete destruction of natural objects and resources

Each of these groups includes characteristic environmental offenses. Among the crimes of the first group you can see:

• violation of environmental and legal standards in the process of project planning; during technical and economic justification of projects; during the design and construction of buildings and other objects, as well as their commissioning
• violation of sanitary and environmental standards when working with various wastes or other unsafe substances
• non-compliance with the methods of using pesticides and agrochemicals
• obstruction of government environmental inspections

The second group of violations includes:

1. non-compliance with rules for the conservation of subsoil and hydromineral resources
2. use of subsoil that does not comply with established standards
3. irrational implementation of geological research of subsoil
4. provision of use and procedure for exploitation of plots of land in a territory that belongs to a water protection zone that does not comply with the law

The third group consists of the following violations:

• damage to land resources
• illegal logging or other damage to trees and shrubs
• destruction of animal habitats

Various penalties may apply for all these violations. In some cases, if the violation is relatively mild, the offender can get by with just a warning, but as the severity increases, the amount of punishment also changes.

For any violation of the norms and rules regulated by law, the violator will face appropriate punishment.

Administrative responsibility

For environmental violations - a fine!

Administrative liability for environmental offenses is assigned in situations where a violation of legal norms occurs without corpus delicti. It applies to individual entrepreneurs, as well as legal entities. Administrative responsibilities are as follows:

• seizure of funds with which the offense was committed
• withdrawal of a license to use natural resources and business related to the use of ecology
• compensation for damage caused to nature

Regulation of administrative responsibility is carried out using several levers. One of them is the Code of Administrative Offenses, and the other is the special legislation of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. This legislation consists of various established legal acts that include a description of possible environmental offenses and possible ways to bring these persons to justice.

In order for administrative liability to be applied, an environmental offense must contain certain characteristics, the offender must be proven, and there must be a norm established by law, depending on which the composition of the violation is determined and how the offender should be punished.

It should be noted that administrative liability for environmental offenses is somewhat specific:

1. it occurs exclusively for those violations that are noted in the legislation as administrative
2. Any person can act as a violator
3. application of responsibility is assigned to the authorized body or official
4. it must be used in the manner established by procedural legislation
5. As a punishment, only the prescribed norms are applied; if the violation is minor, then exemption from the violation is possible
6. liability varies depending on the offender

Administrative liability is defined by law and is applied exclusively in accordance with the established procedure.

Administrative liability for environmental offenses is one of the types of liability that is applied to a person who has in any way violated legal standards for environmental protection. Depending on the offense, various punishment options are applied.

Expert lawyer's opinion:

Caring for the environment is caring for our future and the future of our children. Apparently, therefore, the legislator provided for liability for environmental violations, including criminal liability. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contains such an article. It is called “Illegal logging of forest plantations” (Article 260). This is exactly what will happen if, before the New Year, you go to the forest and bring a Christmas tree home.

And this is what will happen. If the Christmas tree is appraised and its value turns out to be more than 5,000 rubles, then in court you can get a fine from 500 thousand rubles to imprisonment for up to 2 years. It turns out quite a lot. Our article provides a more complete list various types responsibility. But specific offenses involving administrative and criminal liability can be found by studying the contents of the articles of the codes.

Enterprises pay huge fines, millions of rubles, for violating environmental standards. But the environmental situation is changing slowly. Punishments alone are apparently not enough.

Justification: Chapter 26 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (18 articles), Chapter 8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (46 articles).

On legal liability for violation of environmental legislation - in the video:

Most often taking place in the field of environmental management and environmental protection. Administrative responsibility is expressed in the application by the competent state body of administrative penalties for committing an environmental offense. Regulated by the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and environmental legislation. A special chapter is devoted to administrative offenses in the field of environmental protection and liability for their commission ( Ch. 7) Code of Administrative Offences.

Administrative liability, unlike disciplinary liability, occurs not only for officials and citizens, but also for legal entities.

The Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses provides for the following types of administrative penalties for committing administrative offenses:

1. Warning;

3. Paid seizure of an item that was an instrument or direct object of an administrative offense;

4. Confiscation of an item that was an instrument of commission or the direct object of an administrative offense;

5. Deprivation of a special right granted to a given citizen ( management rights vehicle, hunting rights);

7. Administrative arrest.

In this case it is provided ( Art. 25 Code), that paid seizure and confiscation of items that are important in the field of environmental protection, especially wild fauna, can be applied as main and additional administrative penalties, while other administrative penalties can only be applied as main ones.

For one administrative offense, a primary or primary and additional penalty may be imposed. When imposing an administrative penalty, the nature of the offense committed, the identity of the offender, the degree of his guilt, property status, mitigating and aggravating circumstances are taken into account.

The Law “On Environmental Protection” provides for the following types of environmental offenses entailing administrative liability:

1. Failure to comply with standards, norms and other environmental quality standards;

2. Failure to fulfill obligations to conduct a state environmental assessment and the requirements contained in the conclusion of the environmental assessment, as well as to provide deliberately incorrect and unfounded expert opinions;

3. Violation of environmental requirements during planning, feasibility study, design, placement, construction, reconstruction, commissioning, operation of enterprises, structures, technological lines and other facilities;

4. Pollution of the natural environment and resulting harm to human health, flora and fauna, property of citizens and legal entities;

5. Spoilage, damage to natural objects, including natural monuments, depletion and destruction of natural reserve complexes and natural ecological systems;

6. Violation of the established procedure or rules for the extraction, collection, procurement, sale, purchase, acquisition, exchange, transfer, import and export abroad of objects of flora and fauna, their products, as well as botanical, zoological and mineralogical collections;

7. Failure to comply with mandatory measures to restore the disturbed natural environment and reproduce natural resources;

8. Disobedience to the instructions of the bodies exercising state environmental control;

9. Violation of environmental requirements for the neutralization, processing, disposal, storage or disposal of industrial and household waste;

10. Failure to comply with environmental requirements when using radioactive materials, chemicals and other harmful substances in the national economy and disposal;

11. Exceeding established levels of radiation exposure, etc.

One of the most common administrative measures for environmental violations is a fine. The specific amount of the fine required depends not only on the nature and type of the offense committed, the degree of guilt of the offender and the harm caused, but is also determined by the powers granted to the relevant body imposing the fine.

Fines for administrative environmental violations are imposed by specially authorized state bodies in the field of environmental protection and regulation of the use of natural resources in accordance with their competence. The right to apply these measures is vested in special commissions under executive authorities, internal affairs bodies, and officials of control and supervisory authorities. Administrative measures are applied without going to court and according to a prohibited procedure. Penalties are most clearly and actively applied for violations of water legislation

The amounts of collected fines are transferred to special accounts of state environmental funds. As usual, a decision to impose an administrative fine can be appealed to a court or arbitration court. Payment of a fine does not relieve the perpetrators of the obligation to compensate for the damage caused by the offense.

Prosecution in the form of a fine, regardless of its amount, does not relieve the guilty person from the obligation to compensate for the damage caused. This is explained by the fact that the fine, although of a material nature, is a measure of punishment, not compensation for harm; the amounts of the fine do not go to the victim to compensate for the harm, but are sent in accordance with the Law to special accounts of extra-budgetary environmental funds.

Taking into account the above, an environmental offense can be defined as an unlawful, usually guilty act (action or inaction) committed by a legally capable subject, causing or posing a real threat of causing environmental harm or violating the rights and legitimate interests of subjects of environmental law.

Taking into account the degree of public danger, environmental offenses are divided into misdemeanors and crimes. The first are less socially dangerous acts compared to the second and are disciplinary, material, administrative and civil offenses. In accordance with the types of environmental offenses, disciplinary, material, administrative, criminal and civil liability occurs.

In accordance with general theory of law, an environmental violation in its structure consists of an object, a subject, objective and subjective sides.

The object of an environmental violation are social relations regarding the environment as a whole and its individual components, regulated and protected by legal norms. These relations in their content relate to ownership of natural resources, environmental management, environmental protection from harmful influences, protection of environmental rights and legitimate interests of humans and citizens.

In the commentary to the Law of the RSFSR “On the Protection of the Natural Environment,” the natural environment is referred to as the object of an environmental violation 1 . This judgment seems unconvincing. If there are no requirements in environmental legislation regarding the regulation of certain social relations regarding a particular natural object, legal liability cannot be applied for their violation. Nature, or the environment, acts as the subject of an environmental crime.

Subjects of environmental offenses there may be legal entities, officials and individuals, including foreign legal entities and citizens, who have committed offenses related to the use of natural resources or environmental protection on the territory of Russia or the territory under its jurisdiction.

The composition of the subjects varies depending on the type of environmental offense. Thus, the subjects of disciplinary liability are officials and employees of enterprises, criminal - officials and citizens, administrative - legal entities, officials and citizens.

In accordance with current legislation, administrative and criminal liability of individuals for environmental offenses begins at the age of 16. In civil proceedings, citizens bear limited liability from the age of 14 to 18, and full liability from the age of 18. From this age the person becomes fully capable. Labor legislation does not establish age restrictions regarding the application of disciplinary and financial liability to persons guilty of committing environmental offenses in the labor sphere.

For objective side of environmental crime characterized by the presence of three elements:

a) illegality of conduct;

b) causing or real threat of causing environmental harm, or violation of other legal rights and interests of subjects of environmental law;

V) causation between illegal behavior and environmental harm caused or real threat causing such harm, or violation of other legal rights and interests of subjects of environmental law.

The subjective side of an environmental violation characterized by the guilt of the offender (except for cases of liability of the owner of a source of increased danger). Guilt refers to the mental attitude of the offender to his illegal behavior, which can manifest itself in action or inaction. The law provides for two forms of guilt: intent (direct or indirect) and negligence. An environmental offense is intentional when the offender foresees the onset of socially harmful consequences of his behavior and desires or consciously allows them (for example, an entrepreneur dumps toxic waste from his production on the edge of a forest, i.e. not in the designated place). There are two types of negligence: presumption and negligence. Arrogance occurs when a person violating an environmental requirement foresees the socially harmful consequences of his activities, but frivolously counts on the opportunity to avoid them. Negligence is manifested in the fact that a person does not foresee the occurrence of harmful consequences, although he should and could have foreseen them. The Civil Code of the Russian Federation introduces the concept of gross negligence. Is it true, we're talking about about the gross negligence of the victim himself, which contributed to the occurrence or increase of harm, which is taken into account when determining the amount of compensation for harm by the offender (Article 1083).

At the same time, in environmental practice, as already noted, there may be no-fault (absolute) liability for harm caused by a source of increased danger. Compensation for such damage is regulated by Art. 1079 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Some environmental offenses can be committed with any form of guilt (for example, offenses the consequences of which are air or water pollution), others - only with an intentional form of guilt (illegal hunting or fishing), others - through negligence (for example, careless handling of fire in the forest and violation of fire safety rules in forests).

Administrative liability for environmental violations

This is a type of legal liability that most often occurs in the field of environmental management and environmental protection. Administrative responsibility is expressed in the application by the competent state body of administrative penalties for committing an environmental offense. Regulated by the Code of Administrative Offenses of the RSFSR and environmental legislation. So, in Art. 84 of the RSFSR Law “On Environmental Protection” not only formulates the elements of administrative offenses, but also determines the subjects of administrative responsibility, as well as the amount of administrative fines that can be imposed on offenders.

The issue of concentration of legal regulation of administrative liability in the Code of Administrative Offenses of the RSFSR is discussed, as is done with regard to criminal liability in the Criminal Code. However, in relation to administrative liability, the existing practice seems preferable for a number of reasons. The first is related to the presence of significant gaps in environmental legislation. Many environmental requirements, both material and procedural, have not yet been formalized as legal ones. Their normative consolidation in actively developing legislation will require constant amendments and additions to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the RSFSR. Using such a code will be difficult. The second reason concerns the convenience for subjects of environmental law, to whom laws in the field of environmental management and environmental protection are addressed. From the text of one act, they can learn about the environmental requirements that they must comply with and the administrative liability that they will bear in case of their violation. If a decision is made to regulate administrative liability exclusively by the Code of Administrative Offenses, then, taking into account the gaps in environmental legislation and the prospects for its development, the elements of administrative offenses should obviously be formulated in more general view- for example, violation of environmental assessment requirements, violation of environmental certification requirements, violation of rules for handling production and consumption waste, etc.

In accordance with the Law “On Environmental Protection”, the subjects of administrative responsibility are not only officials and citizens, but also legal entities, which is a innovation of this Law. Administrative liability is applied only if the offender is at fault.

Article 24 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the RSFSR establishes the following administrative penalties: warning; fine; paid seizure of an object that was an instrument for committing or the direct object of an administrative offense; confiscation of an object that was an instrument of commission or the direct object of an administrative offense; deprivation of a special right granted to a given citizen, for example the right to hunt; correctional labor, administrative arrest.

According to their own objective signs an administrative offense is superficially similar to a crime. Therefore, the Code of Administrative Offenses, as one of the preconditions for imposing administrative liability, provides for the absence of elements of a crime in the committed violation. The main features that make it possible to distinguish between an environmental crime and an administrative offense are, as a rule, given in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. This is the repetition of an environmental offense, the presence of intent, etc.

The elements of environmental offenses for which administrative liability may arise are defined in Art. 84 of the Law “On Environmental Protection”, in Art. 125 of the Land Code of the RSFSR, some other acts of environmental legislation. In the Code of Administrative Offenses of the RSFSR, these types of offenses are contained in two chapters: administrative offenses encroaching on socialist property (Chapter 6) and administrative offenses in the field of protection of the natural environment, historical and cultural monuments (Chapter 7). In accordance with the Code, administrative liability applies for:

• violation of right state property to the bowels (Article 46); on the waters (v. 47); to forests (v. 48); on animal world(Article 48 1);
• unauthorized extraction of amber (Article 46 1);
• mismanagement of land (Article 50);
• damage to agricultural and other lands (Article 51);
• untimely return of temporarily occupied lands or failure to bring them into a state suitable for their intended use (Article 52);
• unauthorized deviation from on-farm land management projects (Article 53);
• destruction of boundary signs (Article 54);
• violation of requirements for the protection of subsoil and hydromineral resources (Article 55);
• violation of the rules and requirements for carrying out work on geological exploration of subsoil (Article 56);
• illegal issuance of a license (permit), as well as arbitrary change in the conditions of the issued license (permit) to carry out activities on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation (Article 56 1);
• violation of current standards (norms, rules) or license conditions regulating permitted activities on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation (Article 56 2);
• violation of the rules for conducting resource or marine scientific research on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation (Article 56 3);
• violation of rules for the protection of water resources (Article 57);
• violation of the rules for the disposal of waste and other materials on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation (Article 57 1);
• failure to fulfill obligations to register operations with harmful substances and mixtures in ship documents (Article 58);
• violation of water use rules (Article 59);
• damage to water management structures and devices, violation of the rules of their operation (Article 60);
• illegal use of state forest fund lands (Article 61);
• violation of the established procedure for the use of logging resources, harvesting and removal of wood, and harvesting of resin (Article 62);
• illegal cutting and damage to trees and bushes, destruction and damage to forest crops and young growth (Article 63);
• destruction or damage to undergrowth in forests (Article 64);
• carrying out forest use not in accordance with the purposes or requirements provided for in the logging license (order) or forest license (Article 65);
• violation of the rules for restoration and improvement of forests, use of mature wood resources (Article 66);
• damage to hayfields and pastures on the lands of the state forest fund (Article 67);
• unauthorized haymaking and grazing of livestock, unauthorized collection of wild fruits, nuts, mushrooms, berries (Article 68);
• collection of wild fruits, nuts and berries in violation of established deadlines (Article 69);
• commissioning of production facilities without devices that prevent harmful effects on forests (Article 70);
• damage to forests by wastewater, chemicals, harmful emissions, waste and refuse (Article 71);
• littering of forests with household waste and garbage (Article 72);
• destruction or damage to forest drainage ditches, drainage systems and roads on the lands of the state forest fund (Article 73);
• destruction of fauna useful for the forest (Article 75);
• violation of fire safety requirements in forests (Article 76);
• release of pollutants into the atmosphere in excess of standards or without permission and harmful physical effects on the atmospheric air (Article 77);
• commissioning of enterprises without compliance with the requirements for atmospheric air protection (Article 78);
• violation of operating rules, as well as failure to use equipment for cleaning emissions into the atmosphere (Article 79);
• release into operation of transport and other mobile vehicles exceeding the standards for the content of pollutants in emissions (Article 80);
• operation of motor vehicles and other mobile vehicles exceeding the standards for the content of pollutants in emissions (Article 81);
• non-compliance with requirements for the protection of atmospheric air when storing and burning industrial and household waste (Article 82);
• violation of the rules for transportation, storage and use of plant protection products and other preparations, which has resulted or may result in air pollution (Article 83);
• failure to comply with the instructions of the bodies exercising control over the protection of atmospheric air (Article 84);
• violation of the rules for transportation, storage and use of plant protection products and other drugs, causing damage to the animal world (Article 84 1);
• violation of the rules for protecting the habitat of animals, the rules for creating zoological collections and trade in them, as well as unauthorized relocation, acclimatization and crossing of animals (Article 84 2);
• violation of the procedure for the use of wildlife, as well as the illegal import of animals or plants recognized as detrimental to the conservation of animal species listed in the Red Book (Article 84 3);
• destruction of rare and endangered animals or commission of other actions that may lead to death, reduction in numbers or disruption of the habitat of such animals (Article 84 4);
• failure to comply with the legal requirements of officials of the continental shelf protection authorities of the Russian Federation (Article 84 5);
• illegal transfer of mineral and living resources of the continental shelf of the Russian Federation (Article 84 6);
• violation of the rules of hunting and fishing, as well as rules for other types of use of wildlife (Article 85);
• violation of whaling rules (Article 86).

The Code of Administrative Offenses of the RSFSR also defines the bodies and officials authorized to consider relevant cases (Chapter 15) and the jurisdiction of such cases (Chapter 16). Cases of environmental violations are considered primarily by courts (judges), internal affairs bodies, state inspection bodies and other bodies (officials) authorized by legislative acts of the Russian Federation.

So, according to Art. 202 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the RSFSR, judges consider cases of environmental offenses under Art. 46 1, 49, 49 1, 56 1 -56 3, 57 1, 84 5, 84 6 of the Code.

State mining supervision bodies in accordance with Art. 211 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the RSFSR consider cases of administrative offenses under Art. 46, 55, 56 (for violations committed during the development of mineral resources), Art. 56 2.

Bodies and institutions carrying out state sanitary supervision consider cases of administrative offenses provided for in Art. 77-83 (violations of sanitary and hygienic rules and standards for the protection of atmospheric air) and Art. 84 (failure to comply with the instructions of the bodies exercising state sanitary supervision).

Issues of jurisdiction over cases of environmental violations are resolved in the Code of Administrative Offenses insufficiently consistently, without fully taking into account the place of specially authorized bodies in public administration nature management and environmental protection. Thus, the State Committee for Ecology of the Russian Federation, which is entrusted with the implementation of state environmental control, in accordance with Art. 219 2 of the Code has the right to consider only cases of administrative offenses provided for in Art. 56 1, 56 2, 57 1 and 84 5, i.e. related to the protection of mineral and living resources of the continental shelf of the Russian Federation.

One of the most common administrative measures for environmental violations is a fine. The specific amount of the fine imposed depends not only on the nature and type of offense committed, the degree of guilt of the offender and the harm caused, but is also determined by the powers granted to the relevant authority imposing the fine.

The decision to impose a fine (like any other decision on an administrative penalty) can be appealed to a court or arbitration court.

The Law “On Environmental Protection” emphasizes: prosecution in the form of a fine, regardless of its amount, does not relieve the guilty person from the obligation to compensate for the harm caused. This is explained by the fact that the fine, although of a material nature, is a measure of punishment, and not compensation for harm; the amounts of the fine do not go to the victim to compensate for the harm, but are sent in accordance with the Law to special accounts of extra-budgetary environmental funds.

43. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation directly states that its task, along with the protection of human and civil rights and freedoms, property and public order, is to protect the environment.

The state of human health largely depends on the purity of water, air, the quality of the food on which he eats, and, accordingly, on the purity of the soil. I have never come across information on how many people in Russia die due to the impact of unfavorable environmental factors on their health. However, it is known that the life expectancy of men in Russia over the past 25 years has decreased from 71 years to 57 years, including due to the degradation of nature.

All crimes formulated in the current Criminal Code, from the point of view of the functions they perform related to environmental management and environmental protection, can be divided into three categories: special environmental crimes, related, additional.

Special environmental compounds formulated in a separate chapter “Environmental Crimes” (Chapter 26). It is placed in section. IX “Crimes against public safety and public order” and contains the following elements:

• violation of environmental protection rules during work (Article 246);
• violation of the rules for handling environmentally hazardous substances and waste (Article 247);
• violation of safety rules when handling microbiological or other biological agents or toxins (Article 248);
• violation of veterinary rules and rules established to combat plant diseases and pests (Article 249);
• water pollution (Article 250);
• air pollution (Article 251);

Marine pollution (Article 252);

• violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation on the continental shelf and on the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation (Article 253);
• damage to the earth (v. 254);
• violation of rules for the protection and use of subsoil (Article 255);
• illegal harvesting of aquatic animals and plants (Article 256);
• violation of rules for the protection of fish stocks (Article 257);
• illegal hunting (Article 258);
• destruction of critical habitats for organisms listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation (Article 259);
• illegal cutting of trees and bushes (Article 260);
• destruction or damage of forests (Article 261);
• violation of the specially protected regime natural areas and natural objects (Article 262).

Special environmental compounds include a number of compounds formulated in articles contained in other chapters of the Code:

• violation of safety rules at facilities nuclear energy(Article 215);
• concealment of information about circumstances that pose a danger to the life or health of people (Article 237);
• cruelty to animals (Article 245);
• ecocide (Article 358).

These compositions are undoubtedly environmentally friendly in their content. Taking into account the object of environmental crimes, two types of crimes can be distinguished that encroach on:

a) environmental law and order in general. The object of such encroachments is public relations regarding the environment as an integrated object of legal regulation of use and protection. It is important to emphasize that the previous Criminal Code of the RSFSR did not at all provide for elements reflecting an encroachment on nature as a whole. According to the new Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, this type of crime includes the offenses formulated in Art. 247- 249,259, 262, 215, 237, 358;

b) the procedure for the use and protection of individual natural resources. These are crimes under Art. 245, 250-258, 260--261 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Related crimes in the field of environmental management and environmental protection, those that perform environmental functions only under certain objective circumstances should be considered: refusal to provide information to a citizen (Article 140); registration of illegal transactions with land (Article 170); terrorism (Article 205); violation of safety rules when conducting mining, construction or other work (Article 216); violation of safety rules at explosive objects (Article 217); violation of the rules for accounting, storage, transportation and use of explosives, flammable substances and pyrotechnic products (Article 218); violation of fire safety rules (Article 219); illegal handling of radioactive materials (Article 220); theft or extortion of radioactive materials (Article 221); illegal trafficking of potent or toxic substances for the purpose of sale (Article 234); violation of sanitary and epidemiological rules (Article 236); violation of safety rules during the construction, operation or repair of main pipelines (Article 269); planning, preparing, unleashing or waging aggressive war (Article 353); production or distribution of weapons of mass destruction (Article 355); use of prohibited means and methods of warfare (Article 356). These compounds acquire environmental significance only when, as a result of illegal actions, environmental regulations are violated and harm is caused to the environment.

Some compounds, while not environmental in nature, can also be used for environmental protection purposes under certain circumstances. TO additional should include a number of crimes against state power, interests civil service and services in local government bodies: abuse of official powers (Article 285); abuse of official powers (Article 286); official forgery(Article 292); negligence (Article 293). The crimes provided for in these articles can be applied directly to those officials who, through their actions or inactions, contributed to causing harm to the environment.

The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for the following types of punishments for committing environmental crimes:

• fine. Punishment in the form of a fine is provided for almost all environmental crimes. Its size depends on the nature of the crime committed. The minimum fine is 200 times the minimum wage, the maximum is up to 700 times the minimum wage;
• deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities. Such punishment is provided for many environmental crimes. Sometimes the duration of this punishment is also established;
• compulsory work. They consist of the convict performing free socially useful work, the type of which is determined by local government bodies, during his free time from his main work or study. This type of punishment is provided, in particular, for the destruction or damage of forests (up to 240 hours);
• correctional work. They are served at the place of work of the convicted person, while deductions are made from his earnings to the state income in the amount established by the court verdict, ranging from 5 to 20%. Such punishment is established, for example, for violation of veterinary rules and rules established for the fight against diseases and plant pests (up to 1 year); for air pollution (up to 2 years); for damage to land (up to 2 years); for violation of the regime of specially protected natural areas and natural objects (up to 2 years);
• restriction of freedom. It consists of keeping a convicted person, who has reached the age of eighteen by the time the court pronounces a sentence, in a special institution without isolation from society under conditions of supervision over him. Such punishment is provided for damage to land (up to 3 years); destruction of critical habitats for organisms listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation (up to 3 years);
• arrest. It consists of keeping the convicted person in conditions of strict isolation from society. Provided for water pollution (up to 3 months); for marine pollution (up to 4 months);
• imprisonment for a certain period. This type Punishments are provided for many crimes, including violation of environmental protection rules during work (up to 5 years); for violating the rules for handling environmentally hazardous substances and waste (from 3 to 8 years); for violation of safety rules when handling microbiological or other biological agents or toxins (from 2 to 5 years); for water pollution (up to 5 years); for air pollution (up to 3 years); for damage to land (up to 3 years); for the destruction of critical habitats for organisms listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation (up to 3 years); for destruction or damage to forests (up to 8 years). The most severe criminal liability is provided for ecocide, i.e. mass destruction of flora and fauna, poisoning of the atmosphere or water resources, as well as the commission of other actions that can cause ecological disaster. This crime is punishable by imprisonment for a term of 12 to 20 years.

The subjective side of environmental crimes is expressed, as a rule, in the form of indirect intent, when a person is aware of his violation of the relevant rules, foresees the possibility of negative consequences for the environment or human health and consciously allows them to occur or is indifferent to this. In a number of articles, mainly related to environmental pollution, violation of rules for handling hazardous substances and waste, guilt is expressed in the form of negligence.

Assessing the practice of applying criminal liability for environmental crimes, experts note its low effectiveness. Thus, criminal cases involving the most widespread and dangerous violations - pollution of water and air basins - account for 0.96% of total number environmental crimes, land pollution - 0.75%. The number of such cases decreased in 1996 by 22 and 32.8%, respectively. Basically, the rules on liability for crimes and other offenses related to the illegal seizure of natural resources (poaching, illegal logging, illegal mining) are applied.

Environmental offenses are among the most common in Russia. But at the same time, the latency of environmental crimes reaches 95-99%*.

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* Pleshakov A.M. Criminal legal fight against environmental crimes. Author's abstract. doc. diss. M., 1994. P. 5.

In general, there is a sharp discrepancy between the number of persons prosecuted for environmental crimes and the number of persons convicted for them. Thus, in 1995, only 5,100 people (56%) were convicted in 8,066 criminal cases involving 9,093 persons for environmental crimes. The quality of investigations in cases of environmental crimes needs to be significantly improved. Every 4-5th case is terminated without reason. When assigning punishment, courts often allow unjustified concessions to persons who have committed dangerous environmental crimes.

According to the Director of the Research Institute of Problems of Strengthening Law and Order in General Prosecutor's Office RF, “a paradoxical situation has developed in Russia: with the growing environmental crisis, there is atrophy and imbalance of state control and management, with an increase in the number of offenses and abuses, a line of attenuation of the judicial and legal response is visible”

Compensation for harm (damage) caused to natural resources and the environment