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Administrative environmental offenses. Administrative environmental offenses The concept of administrative responsibility for environmental offenses

The current legislation provides for liability for environmental offenses committed in the field of the use of natural reserves and the preservation of the environment. In accordance with the laws and regulations of law, they are singled out as independent offenses and crimes.

concept

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

Environmental offenses are characterized by causing environmental damage in the course of illegal actions.

The essence of the concept is reflected in the fact that the offender took any actions or inactions in relation to the 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 some illegal actions for which punishment should follow. 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 offenses. This:

Committed by the legitimate owners of natural resources.
Made 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 were identified. This:

Corruption.
Destruction.
Damage.

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

Classification

If objects of encroachment of a group of homogeneous offenses are singled out as part of an offense, the following classification takes place:

Illegal destruction and damage natural resources such as pollution, water pollution, destruction of forest areas, significant damage to agricultural land.
Violation and ignoring the rules for transferring 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 damage the environment.
Inaction or non-compliance with the established rules for the conservation of natural resources.
Deliberate use of various natural resources for their own selfish purposes. For example, collecting wild rare plants.

Corpus delicti

Environmental offenses include:

Clogging or depletion of groundwater and sources, causing harm to them, resulting in a change in their natural qualities. Especially if it carries a danger to the animal and plant surroundings.
Violation of the norms of permissible emissions into the atmosphere of various harmful substances 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 with harmful products economic activity due to improper use and application of fertilizers or pesticides, as well as resulting from careless transportation.
Destruction or damage to the natural or artificially created forest fund as a result of improper or inaccurate handling of fire or other sources of potential danger.
Illegal deforestation or destruction of certain types of their plant part, committed on a significant scale, violating the overall balance of the natural environment.
Illegal hunting or extermination of animals, causing damage on a large scale, as well as using vehicles or explosives, poison gases used against the fauna of forests and reserves.
Illegal fishing of fish or marine mammals, as well as vegetation, if they entail causing major damage and are carried out using self-propelled vehicles, chemicals or explosives.
Production of logging, construction of illegal building structures (dams, bridges), if they entailed the mass death of fish and other creatures of the aquatic environment.
Production of environmentally hazardous waste, its improper transportation and storage, as well as disposal by means of release into the environment.
Illegal or careless handling of radioactive materials.
Violation of safety and sanitary rules, which are established by the current federal legislation.

Responsibility for environmental offenses

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

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 in order to:

Supervision by individuals and legal entities of compliance with environmental legislation and its norms.
Compliance with all provided requirements and regulatory documents.
Ensuring ecological 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 over- and extra-departmental in nature;
is one of the functions of environmental management of the state;
associated with the use of various measures of administrative coercion.

Types of liability for environmental offenses

State control is carried out on the basis of the legal framework by special state bodies that have the authority and are called upon to ensure regular and systematic environmental supervision.

Production control is carried out in order to ensure the execution of economic processes or production activities, as well as various measures aimed at protecting the natural environment and rational use of its resources. Business entities provide information about the organization to the executive authorities, which conduct regular inspections in accordance with the procedure established 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 for environmental offenses is applied to employees.

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

Legal liability

Types of liability for environmental offenses: disciplinary, administrative or material, as well as in the case of crimes - criminal. Bringing to any of the types of such liability does not exempt the subject from compensation for harm and other types of monetary penalties and compensation.

The subjects brought to criminal, disciplinary and material liability may be only natural persons. Whereas administrative liability for environmental offenses, as well as civil law, comes for individuals and legal entities.

According to the current legislation, persons who have reached the age of 16 can be held liable. Under civil law, minors have limited liability from the age of 15 to the age of 18. And on the onset of adulthood - full.

Criminal liability for environmental offenses occurs in the case of a completed crime and cannot be awarded for an attempt to commit or prepare it, as well as an attempt to commit a 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 that have caused harm to human health, the spread of various epidemics, as well as serious consequences, including the death of a person.
Deviation from the norms of conducting veterinary activities, which entailed the spread of epizootics or other serious consequences that are in the nature of an epidemic and cover entire livestock in large territorial areas.
Violation of the rules established in the protection of fish stocks, resulting in the mass death of a population of fish or other aquatic creatures, as well as a significant destruction of their food stocks.
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 the established rules as a result of the implementation of production activities or the performance of other works that entailed a change in the radiation level and damage to human health or to the mass destruction of populations of animals and other organisms.
Violation of the methods and rules of storage, disposal of harmful compounds and wastes that can pose a threat to people or the natural environment and entail pollution and poisoning that has caused harm to human health or led to the mass destruction of animals. And also if they were committed in areas with an environmental emergency or disaster and caused the death of a person or mass epidemics.
Pollution of water resources, resulting in damage to fish stocks, flora and fauna, as well as nearby forest or economic lands, especially if human health has been harmed or death has occurred.

Pollution of the atmosphere by the release of toxic substances into the air, which entailed serious consequences.
Damage to the land, which caused significant damage to natural resources, animals and people living in these territories.
Violation of the established rules for the protection and use of the bowels of the earth, including illegal mining of minerals or violation of the 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, birds, as well as carried out on the territory of nature reserves or wildlife sanctuaries.
Illegal felling of trees and shrubs that has led to the extinction or threat of extinction of certain species.
Destruction of forest plantations and massifs as a result of the careless use of fire.

The onset of administrative responsibility

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

Penalties in the form of a fine, warnings, confiscation, seizure of weapons and deprivation of special rights are applied to offenders of administrative proceedings. individuals to carry out a certain type of activity in connection with which the damage was caused.

The list of violations fully complies with criminal offenses with the difference that administrative environmental offenses did not harm 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 have not been fully implemented.

Environmental assessment

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

State expertise 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 a mandatory environmental review, in accordance with the paragraphs of the federal law "On Environmental Review". In case of discrepancies, legal liability for environmental offenses arises.

The environmental assessment is based on the following principles:

Identification of potential environmental hazards for the natural environment from any planned economic and other activities.
Obligation to conduct an examination before the start of decision-making on the construction and implementation of the project to which it is directed.
The complexity of assessing the interactions or the resulting consequences for nature from economic or other activities.
Obligation to take into account the requirements provided during the environmental impact assessment and their implementation.
Reliability and completeness of the information provided.
Independence of expert opinion of ecological expertise.
The scientific accuracy and validity of the conclusions drawn and the legality of the opinions provided based on the results of the environmental impact assessment.
publicity of the results.
Bearing responsibility by the participants of the examination for its organization and high-quality execution.

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

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

The issues of preserving the environment, as well as flora and fauna, should become the concern not only of regulatory authorities, but also of each person individually. This is especially true of economic facilities and enterprises operating in the entrusted territories. Caring for the environment is not limited to caring for your own backyard. During the implementation of its professional activity we should never forget that by preserving the environment, we give the future to our children.

Introduction

Chapter 1. general characteristics administrative offense

1.1 The concept and types of administrative offenses.

1.2 Features and distinctive features of administrative offenses

Chapter 2. Environmental offenses: concept, subject, object

2.1 Concept and types of environmental offense

2.2 Subjects and objects of responsibility

Chapter 3. Responsibility for environmental offenses

3.1 Bodies exercising control over environmental activities

3.2 Liability for environmental offenses

Chapter 4 Problems of Law Enforcement Practice

4.1 Problems of delimitation of the grounds for bringing to criminal and administrative liability in the field of environmental protection

4.2 Problems of monitoring the solution of issues of environmental and sanitary and epidemiological well-being

population

Conclusion

List of sources used kov

Introduction

Environmental protection is one of the most urgent problems of our time. Scientific and technological progress and increased anthropogenic pressure on the natural environment inevitably lead to an aggravation of the ecological situation: natural resources are depleted, the natural environment is polluted, the natural connection between man and nature is lost, aesthetic values are lost, the physical and moral health of people worsens, economic and political struggle for commodity markets, living space.

Concerning Russian Federation, then it belongs to the countries of the world with the worst environmental situation. Pollution of the natural environment has reached unprecedented proportions. Only economic losses, not taking into account the harm to the environment and human health, according to experts, annually amount to an amount equal to half of the country's national income. The number one environmental problem in the Russian Federation is environmental pollution.

Every year the number of environmental offenses increases. They increasingly influence the state of public security, in a number of regions they act as a factor of political destabilization. Environmental offenses cause harm not only to the country's economy, but also undermine the very biological foundations of human existence.

All this dictates the need to increase the efforts of all state, including law enforcement agencies, in the protection and restoration of the natural human habitat.

The study of environmental legislation is important because offenses violate the interests that determine the law and are protected by it, and thereby harm public and personal interests, the established legal order. This is expressed in the negative consequences of the offense, which is a violation of the rule of law, the disorganization of social relations and at the same time (although not always) the derogation, destruction of any good, value, subjective right, restriction of their use, restriction of the freedom of behavior of other subjects.

The set of legislative acts existing in the Russian Federation and related to environmental protection is one of the main tools in the conservation and restoration of nature. The object of the research is social relations arising in the field of environmental protection.

The subject is administrative responsibility for environmental offenses. The purpose of this work is to briefly review and analyze the essence of the phenomenon of environmental offenses, as well as to review the types and degrees of liability provided for by law for environmental offenses.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:

Give a definition and classification of the concept and types of environmental offenses;

Analyze the subject, object of the offense, the subjective and objective sides of the offense;

Determine the status of bodies exercising control over environmental activities;

To characterize the features of administrative responsibility for environmental offenses;

Determine the range of problems in the field of administrative responsibility for environmental offenses.

In connection with the stated research problem, as well as certain specifics of the tasks set, it should be noted that consideration of the legal foundations of administrative responsibility for environmental offenses involves the use of appropriate research methods that will allow for more efficient implementation of the available data. The basis of the research approach of this study was the synthesis of the deductive and inductive methods. The theoretical analysis of the current legislation is supplemented by an analysis of the empirical component, the practice of applying these norms in the law enforcement sphere. The formal-legal method was used as a special research method.

In the study of the topic, monographs and articles from periodicals of such authors as A.B. Vengerov, N.S. Malein, Yu.A. Denisov, N.A. Matuzov, A.V. Malko and others were used.

1.1 The concept and types of administrative offensesth

The legal concept of an administrative offense is enshrined in Part 1 of Art. 2.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. It "recognizes an unlawful, guilty action (inaction) of an individual or legal entity, for which administrative responsibility is established by this Code or the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation on administrative offenses."

This definition is formal, since it contains only legal signs of an act.

Wrongfulness is the legal recognition of anti-social behavior that is harmful to citizens, society, and the state.

The antisocial nature of crimes is so great that they are recognized as socially dangerous. And the degree of harmfulness of most administrative offenses is low, they are not socially dangerous.

So, the first sign of an administrative offense is social harm.

The second sign is administrative wrongfulness. Such an act is directly prohibited by the articles of the Special Part of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation or the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation on administrative offenses.

The third sign of an administrative offense is an act, that is, a conscious, volitional action or inaction of one or more people.

The fourth sign characterizes the subjects of the offense - this is an act committed by an individual or legal entity. It cannot be committed by an unorganized group of citizens, a complex organization that is not a legal entity (party, financial and industrial group, etc.), a branch and other structural subdivisions of a legal entity.

The fifth sign of an administrative offense is guilt, that is, it is a conscious, volitional act, committed intentionally or carelessly.

The sixth sign of an administrative offense is punishability. The possibility of applying administrative penalties is a common feature of administrative offenses. In most cases, if a misconduct is detected, the perpetrator is brought to administrative responsibility. But in some cases, the punishment cannot be applied, for example, the statute of limitations has expired, the norm has been canceled, etc.

Classification of administrative offenses can be carried out on various grounds.

First of all, it is necessary to take into account the existence of various sources of legal regulation. Administrative responsibility is established by the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation and the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation on administrative offenses (Article 1.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). A special part of the Code of Administrative Offenses establishes administrative liability on issues of federal significance, including for violation of the rules and norms provided for by federal laws and other regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation (Article 1.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).

As relevant examples, one should cite violations of the law on meetings, rallies, demonstrations, marches and picketing (Article 5.38 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation), driving a vehicle by a driver who does not have documents provided for by the Rules of the Road (Article 12.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation), knowingly false call of specialized services (Article 19.13 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).

As for the relevant laws, we can mention the Law of February 14, 2003 No. 99-OZ “On Administrative Offenses in the Novosibirsk Region” (as amended on March 12, 2004). In chapter 4 of this law, article 4.2. establishes responsibility for committing at night (from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. local time) any actions that produce noise and disturb the peace and quiet of citizens, including personal actions of citizens, mechanical means and technical devices, with the exception of emergency and rescue operations, as well as other urgent work necessary to ensure the safety of citizens or the functioning of life support facilities for the population.

Administrative offenses can be combined into different groups that have the same main object (subject) of encroachment. It is on this basis that the heads of the Special Part of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation were formed.

Thus, administrative offenses are distinguished that infringe on the rights of citizens (Chapter 5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation), infringe on health, sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population and public morality (Chapter 6), in the field of property protection (Chapter 7), in the field of protection environment and nature management (ch. 8), in industry, construction and energy (ch. 9), in agriculture, veterinary medicine and land reclamation (ch. 10), in transport (ch. 11), in the field of road traffic ( ch. 12), in the field of communications and information (ch. 13), in the field of entrepreneurial activity (ch. 14), in the field of finance, taxes and fees, the securities market (ch. 15), in the field of customs (violations of customs rules) (Chapter 16), encroaching on the institutions of state power (Chapter 17), in the field of protecting the State Border of the Russian Federation and ensuring the regime of stay of foreign citizens or stateless persons on the territory of the Russian Federation (Chapter 18), against the order of management (Chapter . 19), pos attacking public order and public safety (chap. 20), in the field of military registration (ch. 21).

Makarova Anastasia Sergeevna, student, Orenburg State University”, Orenburg [email protected]

Administrative liability for environmental offenses

Annotation. This article defines the concept of administrative responsibility applied for environmental offenses. The essence of administrative responsibility and its features are revealed. Classifications of the list of administrative offenses in the field of environmental protection and nature management and types of punishment for these offenses are given. 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 impact on the natural environment lead to an aggravation of the ecological situation in the country: environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, deterioration in public health, etc. In this regard, one of the most urgent problems is the protection of the natural environment. Every year the number of environmental offenses is increasing. Environmental offenses lead to adverse changes in the field of environmental protection and nature management. The law does not provide for a precise definition of the concept of environmental offense. But most often, an administrative environmental offense is taken to be any illegal, guilty action or inaction of an individual or legal entity that does not comply with environmental legal standards 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 responsibility. Administrative responsibility is a multidimensional and multifaceted category of administrative law. It requires the most in-depth and complete study many reasons: First, administrative responsibility is a kind of state coercion, controlled by administrative and legal norms. Understanding the legal nature of administrative responsibility, the ability to compare measures of administrative responsibility with other types of administrative and legal coercion is the most important task of administrative law, administrative law science and legal practice.

Secondly, the legal norms that establish measures of administrative responsibility, the composition of administrative offenses, 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 is equally necessary in the implementation of 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 on cases of administrative offenses, which is carried out by joint actions of bodies and officials of the executive branch, local self-government, and judges. Professor A.B. Agapov believes that “administrative responsibility is a measure of coercive influence applied to a (physical, legal) person guilty of an administrative offense, limiting the property (non-property) rights of the violator or establishing his additional obligations” Professor D.M. .Ovsyanko understands administrative responsibility as “the application of penalties for administrative offenses by the relevant bodies and officials in order to have an educational impact on the offender and other persons.” Summarizing 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 by a person endowed with appropriate powers, administrative punishment to an individual or legal entity who 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 illegal, guilty action (inaction) of an individual or legal entity for which this Code or the laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation on administrative offenses establishes administrative responsibility is recognized as an administrative offense.” Administrative responsibility is characterized by: various aspects of law enforcement activities of state authorities 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 the person against whom proceedings in a case on an administrative offense shall be considered innocent until his guilt is proved in the manner prescribed by the Code of Administrative Offenses and established by a valid decision of the judge, body, official who considered the case. )6) the principle of expediency (assumes the compliance of the chosen measure of administrative legal influence with the goals of administrative responsibility) 7) the principle of humanism (consists in the fact that the measure of punishment should not degrade human dignity, his honor and other natural human rights and freedoms) Administrative responsibility in the field of environmental offenses occurs only for the commission of an act containing a specific composition of an administrative offense. Unlike other types of legal liability, it has a supra-departmental nature. The peculiarity of administrative liability in the field of nature management and environmental protection is as follows:  the subject of an environmental offense is the totality of public relations that develop in the field of application and protection of subsoil, land, water, forests, atmospheric air, and also of flora and fauna;  occurs only for specific offenses defined in the legislation as administrative;  administrative liability for environmental offenses provides for a warning, imposition of an administrative fine, confiscation of the instrument for committing an administrative offense, administrative arrest, administrative suspension of activities, withdrawal of a license to use resources , compensation for damage to the natural environment, and administrative expulsion for foreign citizens and stateless persons;  administrative responsibility nnosti involved 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 a special authorized body or official; but article 2.9 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides for the possibility of exemption from them if the misconduct is insignificant. Bringing to administrative responsibility for environmental offenses does not relieve the guilty person from the obligation to compensate for the environmental damage (harm) caused. This is explained by the fact that even though 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 to compensate for the 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 100MROT. In ch. 8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation "Administrative offenses in the field of environmental protection and nature 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 nature 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 (Art. 8.1,8.4,8.5,8.40); 2) land protection (art. 8.6, 8.7, 8.8);

3) subsoil protection (Art. 8.9, 8.10, 8.11);

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

5) protection of water resources (art. 8.12–8.20.);

6) protection of forests (art. 8.24–8.32.);

7) protection of the animal world (art. 8.33–8.38.);

8) disposal of production waste (Art. 8.2, 8.19);

9) in the field of agriculture (art. 8.3);

in the field of transport (Articles 8.22, 8.23). It can also be conditionally divided into the following groups:  The first group consists of offenses that establish liability for violation of basic environmental legal norms that 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 expertise”; article 8.5. Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation "Concealment or distortion of environmental information", Article 8.41. “Failure to pay within the established time limits for negative impact on the environment”, Article 8.46. “Failure or untimely fulfillment of the obligation to file an application for state registration of objects that have a negative impact on the environment, to provide information for updating accounting information”The second category includes compounds that establish responsibility for violating the 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 the rules for the protection of water bodies (Article 8.13. Administrative Code of the Russian Federation); Violation of the rules for the protection of atmospheric air (Article 8.21. Administrative Code 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 the protection of habitats or migration routes of wildlife and aquatic biological resources (Article 8.33 of the Code of Administrative Offenses);  The third group includes offenses that determine responsibility for non-compliance with the lawful 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”; These include Non-compliance with environmental and sanitary and epidemiological requirements when handling production and consumption waste, substances that deplete the ozone layer, or other hazardous substances (Article 8.2. of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation); Violation of the regime for the implementation of economic and other activities within the boundaries of zones of flooding, waterlogging (Article 8.44. Administrative Code); Violation of the rules for the operation of water management or water protection structures and devices (Article 8.15. 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 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). and others. Administrative responsibility for environmental crimes performs several key functions:  stimulating compliance with environmental legal norms;  compensating, aimed at compensating for losses in the environment and compensating for damage to human health; 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 "On the Sanitary and Epidemiological Welfare of the Population" (Article 55), the Land Code of the Russian Federation of October 25, 2001 (Art. 74), Forest Code of the Russian Federation of January 29, 1997 (Art. NO), Water Code of the Russian Federation of November 16, 1995 (Art. 130), Law of the Russian Federation of February 21, 1992 Mr. "On bowels" (Art. 49) and others. These articles list the types of legal liability, including administrative, for non-compliance with environmental legislation. various kinds of legal liability depending on guilt, the level of environmental threat, as well as environmental risk.

An administrative environmental offense (misdemeanor) is an unlawful, guilty action (inaction) of a citizen, official or legal entity that infringes on the constitutional right of every person to a favorable environment, including causing harm to the environment (containing a real threat of such infliction), for which administrative responsibility.

The current Code of Administrative Offenses pays much more attention to environmental issues than the previous one, highlighting in Art. 1.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, this activity as one of the tasks of the legislation on administrative offenses.

The subjects of the Russian Federation have the right to adopt their own laws on administrative offenses that do not conflict with the Code of Administrative Offenses. Such laws of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation should also create bodies (inspectorates, commissions, chambers, etc.) authorized to consider cases of administrative offenses in accordance with the legislation of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the law of the subject of the Russian Federation can provide only two types of administrative penalties: a warning and a fine.

An example of such lawmaking by the constituent entities of the Russian Federation is the Code of the Volgograd Region dated June 11, 2008 No. 1693-OD "On Administrative Responsibility", which provides for administrative liability for damage and (or) destruction of green spaces in public areas in settlements (Article 6.1); destruction of rare and endangered species of animals or plants (art. 6.2); violation of the established regime of land use (art. 7.2); pollution of the territories of settlements associated with the operation and repair of vehicles (Article 8.10); violation of the procedure for handling household waste on the territory of settlements (Article 8.14), etc.

Among the federal bodies authorized to consider cases of administrative environmental offenses, the Code of Administrative Offenses singles out (except for judges) bodies exercising the functions of control and supervision in the field of ensuring the sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population, bodies exercising state quarantine phytosanitary control, state supervision and control over safe the handling of pesticides and agrochemicals, the quality and safety of grain and products of its processing and state control over the use and protection of agricultural land; bodies exercising control functions in the field of organization and functioning of specially protected natural areas of federal significance, bodies exercising state environmental supervision, and a number of others.

All components of environmental offenses for which administrative liability may arise are classified into four groups.

The first group includes structures that establish liability for violation of general (basic) environmental legal requirements that apply to all institutions of environmental law. These include violation of the legislation on environmental expertise (Article 8.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), concealment or distortion of environmental information (Article 8.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), etc.

The second group includes structures that establish responsibility for violating the rules for the protection of individual natural objects. These include damage to land (Article 8.6 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), violation of the rules for the protection of atmospheric air (Article 8.21 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), violation of the rules for the protection of water bodies (Article 8.13 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), violation of the rules of sanitary safety in forests (Article 8.31 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), etc. .d.

The third group includes an offense that establishes responsibility for violating the legal regime of territories with a special environmental and legal status, namely, violating the rules for the protection and use of natural resources in specially protected natural areas (Article 8.39 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). At the same time, it should be borne in mind that the Code of Administrative Offenses (unlike the Criminal Code) does not contain rules establishing responsibility for committing environmental offenses in an environmental disaster zone.

Finally, the fourth group includes structures that establish liability for violation of requirements in the field of environmental protection in the course of economic or other activities (in industry, transport, etc.). Among them - non-compliance with environmental and sanitary and epidemiological requirements when handling production and consumption waste or other hazardous substances (Article 8.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), violation of the rules for handling pesticides and agrochemicals (Article 8.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), putting into operation of motor vehicles with exceeding the standards for the content of pollutants in emissions or noise levels (Article 8.22 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), etc.

Consideration of all types of administrative penalties allows us to draw the following conclusions.

First, administrative penalties are relatively specific sanctions. When imposing punishment, the legislator provides environmental authorities (or the court), depending on the nature of the offense, the personality of the offender, the degree of guilt and other circumstances, a certain freedom in choosing the type and amount of punishment in accordance with Art. 4.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses.

Secondly, a person who has committed an administratively punishable offense, in accordance with Art. 2.9 of the Code of Administrative Offenses may be exempted from administrative punishment due to its insignificance.

Thirdly, the terms for imposing administrative penalties are clearly defined. According to Art. 4.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, a decision on a case on administrative liability for violation of environmental protection legislation cannot be issued after two months from the date of its commission. In case of a continuing administrative environmental offense (and there are quite a few of them), the said period is calculated from the day the administrative offense was discovered.

Separately, it is necessary to dwell on the problem of delimitation of administrative and criminal liability in the field of environmental protection.

The structures of criminal and administrative environmental offenses have much in common, and there are no clear criteria for their difference from each other in the composition of administrative offenses.

They are in the criminal law, for example, in a number of compositions such a qualifying sign is indicated as causing harm to the health or death of a person due to atmospheric pollution (for example, Art. 251 of the Criminal Code). Other compositions mention "serious consequences" (Article 246 of the Criminal Code), "significant harm" (part 1 of Article 250 of the Criminal Code); "significant" and "large" damage (Articles 255 and 256 of the Criminal Code). In a note to Art. 260 of the Criminal Code, which establishes criminal liability for illegal logging of forest plantations, reveals the content of the concepts of significant and large-scale harm: “significant” is recognized damage caused to forest plantations or trees, shrubs and lianas not classified as forest plantations, calculated according to the rates approved by the Government of the Russian Federation, exceeding five thousand rubles, large size - 50 thousand rubles, especially large size - 150 thousand rubles. The specific content of many other evaluation criteria is not disclosed in the Criminal Code.

Their interpretation is given in the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 05.11.1998 No. 14 "On the practice of application by courts of legislation on liability for environmental offenses."

Their interpretation is given in the Decree of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated October 18, 2012 No. 21 "On the application by courts of legislation on liability for violations in the field of environmental protection and nature management."

So, the Plenum explained that under "other grave consequences" in relation to Art. 246 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (violation of the rules of environmental protection in the course of work) should be understood, in particular, such a deterioration in the quality of the environment and its components, the elimination of which requires a long time and large financial costs (for example, mass diseases or the death of objects of the animal world, including including fish and other aquatic biological resources; destruction of conditions for their habitat and reproduction (loss of feeding grounds, spawning and wintering pits, disruption of migration routes, destruction of food supply); destruction of flora objects, resulting in a significant reduction in the number (biomass) of these objects; degradation lands). At the same time, mass death (disease) is considered to be an excess of the average level of death (disease) of animals by three or more times.

With regard to Part 1 of Art. 247 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (violation of the rules for handling environmentally hazardous substances and wastes), significant harm to human health is expressed in severe or moderate harm to the health of at least one person, and significant harm to the environment - in its pollution, poisoning or infection, a change in the radioactive background to values representing a danger to human health or life, etc.

Responsibility for illegal hunting, provided for in paragraph "a" part 1 of Art. 258 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, occurs only in the presence of major damage. The damage caused by illegal hunting is classified as major, based not only on the number and value of the hunted, damaged and destroyed animals, but also taking into account other circumstances of the deed, in particular the environmental value, significance for a particular habitat, and the population size of these animals. Major damage is caused, for example, by shooting elk, red deer (maral, red deer), musk ox, brown and white-breasted (Himalayan) bear.

Consequently, in addition to an increased degree of public danger, the presence of such signs of composition as the specifics of the subject, place, method of the offense, its subject, form of guilt, etc. can serve as the basis for qualifying an offense as a crime.

It can be concluded that the elements of administrative and criminal offenses are in relation to each other in the ratio of general and special norms. The former contain abstract formulations, the latter, as it were, concretize them. Consequently, the administrative-legal norm will be applied only in the part that is not covered by the signs of an environmental crime similar in structure, i.e. goes beyond the limits, the boundaries of the signs established by the criminal law norm.

In view of the foregoing, an environmental offense can be defined as an unlawful, as a rule, guilty act (action or inaction) committed by a legally capable subject that causes or carries a real threat of causing environmental harm or violates 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 former are less socially dangerous acts compared to the latter and are disciplinary, material, administrative and civil offenses. In accordance with the types of environmental offenses, disciplinary, material, administrative, criminal and civil liability arises.

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

The object of an environmental offense are public relations about the environment as a whole and its individual components, regulated and protected by the rule of law. These relations in their content relate to the ownership of natural resources, nature management, environmental protection from harmful effects, protection of environmental rights and legitimate interests of man and citizen.

The commentary to the Law of the RSFSR "On the Protection of the Environment" refers to the environment as the object of an environmental offense 1 . Such an argument seems unconvincing. In the absence of 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 offense.

Subjects of environmental offense 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 in the territory of Russia or a territory under its jurisdiction.

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

In accordance with the 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, full liability from the age of 18. From this age, the person becomes fully capable. Labor legislation does not establish age limits regarding the application of disciplinary and material liability of persons guilty of environmental offenses in the labor sphere.

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

a) unlawful behavior;

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

c) a causal relationship between unlawful behavior and environmental damage or a real threat of causing such damage, or violation of other legal rights and interests of subjects of environmental law.

The subjective side of the environmental offense characterized by the guilt of the offender (with the exception of cases of responsibility of the owner of the source of increased danger). Guilt is understood as the mental attitude of the offender to his unlawful 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, in which the offender foresees the onset of socially harmful consequences of his behavior and wishes or deliberately allows them (for example, an entrepreneur dumps toxic waste from his production at the edge of a forest, that is, not in a place established for this). There are two types of negligence: arrogance and negligence. Arrogance occurs when a person who violates an environmental requirement foresees the socially harmful consequences of his activities, but frivolously counts on the possibility of avoiding them. Negligence is manifested in the fact that a person does not foresee the onset of harmful consequences, although he should have and could have foreseen them. The Civil Code of the Russian Federation introduces the concept of gross negligence. True, we are talking 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 innocent (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 that result in air or water pollution), others - only with a deliberate form of guilt (illegal hunting or fishing), and others - through negligence (for example, careless handling of fire in the forest and violation of fire safety rules in the forests).

Administrative liability for environmental offenses

This is the type of legal responsibility that most often takes place in the field of nature management and environmental protection. Administrative responsibility is expressed in the application by the competent authority of the state 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 Law of the RSFSR "On the Protection of the Environment" not only formulates the composition 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 the concentration of legal regulation of administrative responsibility in the Code of Administrative Offenses of the RSFSR is discussed, as is done with respect to criminal liability in the Criminal Code. However, in relation to administrative responsibility, the existing practice seems to be preferable for a number of reasons. The first is related to the presence of significant gaps in environmental legislation. So far, many environmental requirements, both material and procedural, have not been formalized in the form of legal ones. Their normative consolidation in the actively developing legislation will require constant amendments and additions to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the RSFSR. The use of such a code would be difficult. The second reason concerns the convenience for the subjects of environmental law, to whom laws in the field of nature management and environmental protection are addressed. From the text of one act, they can learn about the environmental requirements that must be observed, and about the administrative responsibility that they will bear in case of their violation. If a decision is made to regulate administrative responsibility 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 a more general form - for example, violation of the requirements of environmental expertise, violation of the requirements of environmental certification , violation of the rules for handling production and consumption waste, etc.

In accordance with the Law "On the Protection of the Environment", the subjects of administrative responsibility are not only officials and citizens, but also legal entities, which is an 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 item that was an instrument of committing or a direct object of an administrative offense; confiscation of an object that was an instrument of committing or a direct object of an administrative offense; deprivation of a special right granted to this citizen, for example, the right to hunt; correctional labor, administrative arrest.

According to its objective features, an administrative offense is outwardly similar to a crime. Therefore, the Code of Administrative Offenses, as one of the preconditions for imposing administrative responsibility, 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 components of environmental offenses for which administrative liability may arise are defined in Art. 84 of the Law "On the Protection of the Environment", in Art. 125 ZK RSFSR, some other acts of legislation on the environment. In the Code of Administrative Offenses of the RSFSR, these types of offenses are contained in two chapters: administrative offenses infringing on socialist property (Chapter 6) and administrative offenses in the field of environmental protection, historical and cultural monuments (Chapter 7). In accordance with the Code, administrative responsibility is applied for:

violation of the right of state ownership of subsoil (Article 46); on the waters (v. 47); to forests (Art. 48); on the animal world (Article 48 1);
unauthorized mining of amber (Article 46 1);
mismanagement of land (Article 50);
damage to agricultural and other lands (art. 51);
untimely return of temporarily occupied lands or failure to bring them into a condition suitable for their intended use (Article 52);
unauthorized deviation from projects of on-farm land management (Article 53);
destruction of landmarks (art. 54);
violation of the requirements for the protection of subsoil and hydro-mineral resources (Article 55);
violation of the rules and requirements for conducting work on the geological study of the subsoil (Article 56);
illegal issuance of a license (permit), as well as an arbitrary change in the terms of an issued license (permit) to carry out activities on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation (Article 56 1);
violation of existing standards (norms, rules) or license conditions governing 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 the rules for the protection of water resources (art. 57);
violation of the rules for the disposal of waste and other materials on the continental shelf of the Russian Federation (Article 57 1);
non-fulfillment of obligations to register operations with hazardous substances and mixtures in ship documents (Article 58);
violation of water use rules (art. 59);
damage to water facilities and devices, violation of the rules for their operation (Article 60);
illegal use of lands of the state forest fund (art. 61);
violation of the established procedure for the use of the logging fund, harvesting and removal of wood, harvesting resin (Article 62);
illegal logging and damage to trees and shrubs, destruction and damage to forest plantations and young growth (Article 63);
destruction or damage to undergrowth in forests (Article 64);
implementation of forest use not in accordance with the goals or requirements provided for in the logging ticket (order) or forest ticket (Article 65);
violation of the rules for the restoration and improvement of forests, the 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-growing fruits, nuts and berries in violation of the established deadlines (Article 69);
commissioning of production facilities without devices that prevent harmful effects on forests (Article 70);
damage to the forest by sewage, chemicals, harmful emissions, waste and garbage (Article 71);
clogging of forests with domestic waste and refuse (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 (art. 75);
violation of fire safety requirements in forests (art. 76);
emission of pollutants into the atmosphere in excess of the standards or without permission and harmful physical impact on the atmospheric air (Article 77);
commissioning of enterprises without compliance with the requirements for the protection of atmospheric air (Article 78);
violation of the rules of operation, as well as non-use of equipment for cleaning emissions into the atmosphere (Article 79);
release into operation of transport and other mobile vehicles with excess of standards for the content of pollutants in emissions (Article 80);
operation of motor vehicles and other mobile vehicles in excess of the standards for the content of pollutants in emissions (Article 81);
non-compliance with the requirements for the protection of atmospheric air during storage and incineration of industrial and domestic waste (Article 82);
violation of the rules for transportation, storage and use of plant protection products and other preparations, which has caused or may cause air pollution (Article 83);
non-compliance 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 that caused damage to the animal world (Article 84 1);
violation of the rules for the protection of the habitat of animals, the rules for the creation of zoological collections and their trade, as well as unauthorized resettlement, 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);
the destruction of rare and endangered animals or the commission of other actions that may lead to the death, reduction in the number or violation of the habitat of such animals (Article 84 4);
non-compliance with the legal requirements of officials of the bodies for the protection of the continental shelf of the Russian Federation (Article 84 5);
illegal transfer of mineral and living resources of the continental shelf of the Russian Federation (Art. 84-6);
violation of the rules of hunting and fishing, as well as the rules for the implementation of other types of use of wildlife (Article 85);
violation of whaling rules (art. 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 offenses are considered primarily by courts (judges), internal affairs bodies, state inspection bodies and other bodies (officials) authorized to do so 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.

Bodies of state mining supervision 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 in the process of mining), Art. 56 2 .

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

The issues of jurisdiction of cases of environmental offenses are resolved in the Code of Administrative Offenses insufficiently consistently, without full consideration of the place of specially authorized bodies in the state management of nature management and environmental protection. So, 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 under 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 measures of administrative liability for environmental offenses is a fine. The specific amount of the fine imposed 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.

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

The Law “On Environmental Protection” emphasizes that bringing to responsibility 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 it is of a material nature, is a measure of punishment, and not compensation for harm; the amount of the fine does not go to the victim to compensate for the harm, but is directed in accordance with the Law to special accounts of off-budget environmental funds.

43. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation explicitly 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 that he eats, and, accordingly, the purity of the soil. Information on how many people die in Russia due to the impact of adverse environmental factors on health was not available. 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 offenses formulated in the current Criminal Code, in terms of their functions related to nature management and environmental protection, can be divided into three categories: special environmental offenses, related, additional.

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

violation of the rules of environmental protection in the course of 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 for the control of plant diseases and pests (Article 249);
water pollution (art. 250);
air pollution (art. 251);

Pollution of the marine environment (art. 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 land (art. 254);
violation of the rules for the protection and use of subsoil (Article 255);
illegal harvesting of aquatic animals and plants (art. 256);
violation of the rules for the protection of fish stocks (art. 257);
illegal hunting (art. 258);
destruction of critical habitats for organisms listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation (Article 259);
illegal felling of trees and bushes (art. 260);
destruction or damage to forests (art. 261);
violation of the regime of specially protected natural areas and natural objects (Article 262).

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

violation of safety rules at the facilities nuclear energy(Art. 215);
concealment of information about circumstances endangering human life or health (Article 237);
cruelty to animals (art. 245);
ecocide (art. 358).

These compositions in their content, of course, are ecological. Taking into account the object of environmental crimes, two types of crimes can be distinguished that infringe 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 former Criminal Code of the RSFSR did not at all provide for the compositions reflecting the encroachment on nature as a whole. According to the new Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, this type of crime includes the compositions 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 elements of crimes in the field of nature management and environmental protection, one should consider those that perform environmental functions only under certain objective circumstances: refusal to provide information to a citizen (Article 140); registration of illegal land transactions (Article 170); terrorism (art. 205); violation of safety rules in the conduct of mining, construction or other work (Article 216); violation of safety rules at explosive facilities (Article 217); violation of the rules for accounting, storage, transportation and use of explosive, flammable substances and pyrotechnic products (Article 218); violation of fire safety rules (art. 219); illegal handling of radioactive materials (art. 220); theft or extortion of radioactive materials (Article 221); illegal circulation of potent or poisonous 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, initiating or waging an aggressive war (art. 353); production or distribution of weapons of mass destruction (art. 355); use of prohibited means and methods of warfare (Article 356). These compositions acquire ecological significance only when, as a result of illegal actions, the rules of nature management are violated and the environment is harmed.

Some formulations, while not being ecological in nature, may also be used for environmental protection under certain circumstances. TO additional a number of crimes against state power, the interests of the public service and service in local governments should be attributed: abuse of official powers (Article 285); abuse of office (Article 286); official forgery (art. 292); negligence (art. 293). The crimes envisaged by these articles can be applied directly to those officials who, by their actions or inaction, contributed to causing harm to the environment.

For the commission of environmental crimes, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for the following types of punishments:

fine. Punishment in the form of a fine is provided for almost all environmental crimes. Its amount 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 period of validity of this punishment is also established;
compulsory work. They consist in the execution by the convict in his free from main job or study time for free community service, the type of which is determined by local governments. This type of punishment is provided, in particular, for the destruction or damage of forests (up to 240 hours);
corrective work. They are served at the place of work of the convicted person, while deductions are made from his earnings to the state 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 pests of plants (up to 1 year); for air pollution (up to 2 years); for damage to the 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 in the maintenance of a convicted person who has reached the age of eighteen by the time the court passes the sentence, in a special institution without isolation from society under supervision. Such a punishment is provided for damage to the 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 in keeping the convict in conditions of strict isolation from society. Provided for water pollution (up to 3 months); for pollution of the marine environment (up to 4 months);
imprisonment for a specified period. This type of punishment is provided for many crimes, including violation of environmental protection rules in the course of work (up to 5 years); for violation of 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 the 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 an ecological catastrophe. 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 the violation of the relevant rules, foresees the possibility of negative consequences for the environment or human health and deliberately allows their occurrence or treats it indifferently. In a number of articles related mainly to environmental pollution, violation of the 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 efficiency. Thus, criminal cases on the most massive and dangerous violations - water and air pollution account for 0.96% of the total number of environmental crimes, land pollution - 0.75%. The number of such cases itself decreased in 1996 by 22% and 32.8%, respectively. The rules on liability for crimes and other offenses related to the illegal seizure of natural resources (poaching, illegal logging, illegal mining) are mainly applied.

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

___________________________

* Pleshakov A.M. Criminal-legal struggle against environmental crimes. Abstract doc. diss. M., 1994. S. 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 against 9,093 people for environmental crimes. The quality of the investigation in cases of environmental crimes needs to be significantly improved. Every 4-5th case is groundlessly terminated. When imposing punishment, courts often allow unreasonable indulgences to persons who have committed dangerous environmental crimes.

According to the Director of the Research Institute for the Problems of Strengthening Law and Order under the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation, “a paradoxical situation has developed in Russia: with the growth of the environmental crisis, atrophy and imbalance of state control and management are observed, with an increase in the number of offenses and abuses, a line is visible towards the attenuation of the judicial and legal response”

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