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 to natural resources, such as pollution, clogging of water, 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 of economic activity due to the improper use and application of fertilizers or pesticides, as well as resulting from their 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 event of a completed crime and cannot be awarded for an attempt to commit it or preparation, 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.

Violators of administrative proceedings are punished in the form of a fine, warnings, confiscation, seizure of tools 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 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. While carrying out our professional activities, we should never forget that by preserving the environment, we give the future to our children.

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, an administrative penalty 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 proven 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.

Nesterova I.A. Administrative environmental offenses // Encyclopedia of the Nesterovs

Every year, environmental problems are accumulating in the world. In Russia, the fight against violations in the field of ecology has become a very important aspect of administrative and other branches of law. In this light, the question of the application of the norms of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (CAO RF) in the field of environmental protection and nature management is of great interest.

Environmental offenses and administrative liability

In modern Russian law, environmental crimes are subject to administrative liability in accordance with the norms of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

Chapter 8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation "Administrative offenses in the field of environmental protection and nature management" is responsible for administrative environmental offenses. It includes 42 articles that unite 70 independent administrative offenses.

If you carefully study the compositions presented in the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, then questions arise related to what the crimes relate to. Whether they belong to the field of environmental protection or to the field of nature management.

Violation of legal norms in the field of ecology leads to environmental offenses. This is another kind of illegal behavior of people or their associations.

An environmental offense is a guilty, unlawful act or omission that infringes on the environmental legal order established in the Russian Federation and causes harm to the natural environment or actually creates a threat of such infliction.

A distinctive element of the composition of an environmental-administrative offense from an environmental crime is that its subjects can be both individuals and legal entities, including business entities of various forms of ownership and subordination, as well as foreign organizations and citizens.

The current legislation regulates the age of bringing to administrative responsibility for environmental crimes.

The age from which a person can be held administratively liable for environmental offenses, subject to physical health and sanity, is 16 years.

Article 9 of the Federal Law of the Russian Federation "On Environmental Protection" states: "The harm caused to the health and property of citizens by the negative impact of the environment as a result of economic and other activities of legal entities and individuals is subject to compensation in full."

Administrative environmental offenses have an objective and subjective side. The subjective side characterizes the mental attitude of an individual to the committed act and its consequences and has a certain specificity.

D.Yu. Gladyshev characterizes the subjective side of an environmental and legal violation as the mental attitude of the offender to his unlawful behavior, which can manifest itself in action or inaction.

The intent of an administrative environmental offense can be intentional or negligent.

In the process of studying the features of administrative environmental offenses, a difference was established between an environmental-administrative offense and other types of environmental-legal violations. The differences are not only in the subject and the subjective side, but also in the level of public danger.

Types of administrative environmental offenses

Administrative responsibility is established for violation of the rules for the protection and use of certain natural resources and natural complexes

Types of administrative responsibility for environmental offenses:

• liability for violation of the rules for the protection and use of land is established for damage to land;
• liability for violation of the rules for the protection and use of subsoil is provided for violation of the requirements for the protection of subsoil and hydro-mineral resources;
• liability for violation of the rules for the protection and use of waters is regulated for violation of the procedure for granting for use and the regime for the use of land and forests in water protection zones and coastal strips of water bodies;
• liability for violation of the rules for the protection and use of resources of natural complexes is established for violation of the rules (standards, norms) or license conditions regulating activities in inland sea waters, in the territorial sea, on the continental shelf and (or) in the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation;
• liability for violation of the regulatory requirements for the protection of atmospheric air is provided for violation of the rules for the protection of atmospheric air;
• responsibility for violating the rules for the protection and use of forest resources is established for violating the procedure for allocating cutting areas, surveying logging sites in forests that are not included in the forest fund, violating forest use rules, violating the rules for secondary forest use, violating fire safety rules in forests;
• liability for violation of the rules for the protection and use of wildlife is provided for the destruction of animal habitats;
• responsibility for violation of requirements in the course of work in the field of hydrometeorology, monitoring of environmental pollution and active impacts on hydrometeorological and other geophysical processes.

The point of view of I.B. Kalinin, who proposed the classification shown in the figure below.

According to I.B. Kalinin, "this classification is based on a system of social relations that arise in the process of resource use."

A significant drawback of this concept is that, based on such an important object of environmental and legal relations as nature management, it does not affect such objects of the offense as the environment as a whole and its individual elements.

For a more complete study of the types of environmental and administrative offenses, it is necessary to proceed from the following classification, dividing administrative environmental violations into two main groups:

1. Offenses against property rights in the field of the environment (Articles 7.1-7.11, 8.6, 8.26, 8.28 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation) and the right to receive reliable information about the state of the environment (Articles 8.5, 10.7 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation);
2. Offenses against the established rules of environmental protection and nature management. In this group, it is possible to single out both offenses that can have various elements of the environment as their object, and those that affect only specific elements. Universal offenses are contained in articles 8.1-8.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

In administrative and legal science, a number of special violations are distinguished, which are presented in the figure below.

The basis of the division in this case is the object of the offense, but the purpose of the classification is to distribute the elements of the system of administrative offenses in the field of environmental protection in a certain logical sequence, which allows us to more clearly explore this institution of administrative law.

Literature

1. The Constitution of the Russian Federation was adopted by popular vote on December 12, 1993, taking into account the amendments introduced by the Laws of the Russian Federation on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation of December 30, 2008 N 6-FKZ, of December 30, 2008 N 7-FKZ // Parliamentary newspaper, N 4, 23-29.01. 2009
2. Code of the Russian Federation on Administrative Offenses of December 30, 2001 N 195-FZ, as amended. dated 12.03.2014 with amend. and add., intro. in force from 04/01/2014 // "Collected Legislation of the Russian Federation", 01/07/2002, N 1 (part 1), art. one.
3. Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation of July 24, 2002 N 95-FZ, as amended. dated 04/22/2013 // Collection of Legislation of the Russian Federation, 07/29/2002, N 30, art. 3012
4. Federal Law "On Environmental Protection" dated January 10, 2002 N 7-FZ (current version, 2016)// / Consultant Plus. Prof. version - - M, 2016.
5. Gladyshev D.Yu. Some features of legal liability for environmental offenses // Legal technique Issue No. 6 / 2012 - P. 126-129
6. Ermakova L. Environmental offenses: Concept and distinctions // Ecological law. - 2004. - No. 4. - S. 8-9.
7. Kalinin I.B. Natural resource law - Tomsk: Publishing House Vol. university, 2009
8. Pakalov D.S. Environmental offenses: structure and causes // Gaps in Russian legislation. Legal Journal Issue No. 1 / 2012. S. -226-228

The objective side of an environmental offense is 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 illegal 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 subjects of an environmental offense 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 subjects varies depending on the type of environmental offense. So, the subjects of disciplinary liability 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 financial liability of persons guilty of environmental offenses in the labor sphere.

The subjective side of an environmental offense is characterized by the guilt of the offender (with the exception of cases of liability of the owner of a 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 violating 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).

Disciplinary liability for environmental offenses

The grounds for disciplinary liability, the range of subjects and disciplinary sanctions are regulated by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation of December 30, 2001. It is expressed in the imposition by the employer on the guilty employee of a disciplinary sanction for failure to perform or improper performance of the labor duties assigned to him related to nature management and environmental protection. The offense may, for example, consist in the failure of the chief engineer of the enterprise to comply with the requirements of the job description regarding the operation of industrial equipment. Unlike criminal and administrative legislation, there is no more or less systematized list of environmental disciplinary offenses here.

The subjective side of a disciplinary environmental offense is, as a rule, negligence. In accordance with Article 192 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the following disciplinary sanctions may be applied for committing a disciplinary offense: a remark; rebuke; dismissal. Federal laws, charters and regulations on discipline for certain categories of employees may also provide for other disciplinary sanctions.

The procedure for imposing and removing a disciplinary sanction is regulated by labor legislation. Before applying a disciplinary sanction, the employer must request an explanation from the employee in writing. If the employee refuses to give the specified explanation, an appropriate act is drawn up. The employee's refusal to give an explanation is not an obstacle to the application of a disciplinary sanction. A disciplinary sanction is applied no later than one month from the date of discovery of the misconduct, not counting the time of illness of the employee, his stay on vacation, as well as the time required to take into account the opinion of the representative body of employees.

The order (instruction) of the employer on the application of a disciplinary sanction is announced to the employee against receipt within three working days from the date of its issuance. A disciplinary sanction may be appealed by an employee to state labor inspectorates or bodies for the consideration of individual labor disputes.

If within a year from the date of application of a disciplinary sanction, a new disciplinary sanction is not applied to the employee, then he is considered not to have a disciplinary sanction. The employer, before the expiration of a year from the date of application of a disciplinary sanction, has the right to remove it from the employee on his own initiative, at the request of the employee himself, at the request of his immediate supervisor or a representative body of employees.

At the request of the representative body of employees, the head of the organization and his deputies may be brought to disciplinary responsibility. The employer is obliged to consider the application of the representative body of employees about the violation by the head of the organization, his deputies of laws and other regulatory legal acts on labor, the terms of the collective agreement, agreement and report the results of the consideration to the representative body of employees. If the facts of violations are confirmed, the employer is obliged to apply a disciplinary sanction to the head of the organization, his deputies, up to and including dismissal.

The imposition of a disciplinary sanction in the presence of legal grounds does not exclude the possibility of applying more severe types of liability to the guilty employee - administrative, criminal, civil.

Administrative liability for environmental offenses

The Code of Administrative Offenses also defines the bodies and officials authorized to consider the relevant cases (Chapter 23). Thus, judges consider cases of administrative offenses provided for in Articles 7.5, 7.12, 7.15, 7.17, 7.24, 7.27, 7.28; bodies of internal affairs (militia) consider cases of administrative offenses provided for in Articles 8.22, 8.23; bodies of the state sanitary and epidemiological service of the Russian Federation consider cases of administrative offenses provided for in part 2 of article 7.2 (on the destruction and damage of signs of sanitary (mountain and sanitary) zones and districts, medical and recreational areas and resorts), part 2 of article 7.8, article 8.2 , Article 8.5 (in terms of information on the state of atmospheric air, sources of drinking water supply, as well as on the radiation situation), part 2 of Article 8.6 (on damage to land by production and consumption waste hazardous to human health and the environment); specially authorized state bodies in the field of nature management and environmental protection.

Bodies exercising state environmental control consider cases of administrative offenses provided for in part 2 of article 7.2 (on the destruction and damage of signs of specially protected natural areas, as well as signs installed by users of wildlife or specially authorized state bodies for the protection, control and regulation of the use objects of the animal world and their habitat, buildings and other structures belonging to the specified users and authorities), Articles 7.11 (use of objects of the animal world without a permit (license)), 8.1 (non-compliance with environmental requirements in planning, feasibility study of projects, design, placement, construction, reconstruction, commissioning, operation of enterprises, structures or other facilities), 8.2 (non-compliance with environmental and sanitary and epidemiological requirements when handling production and consumption waste or other hazardous substances ami), 8.18 (violation of the rules for conducting resource or marine scientific research in internal sea waters, in the territorial sea, on the continental shelf and (or) in the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation) and other offenses.

The initiation and consideration of an administrative environmental offense, the execution of decisions in such cases is regulated by chapters 28, 29, 31, 32 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

Bringing to administrative responsibility for environmental offenses does not relieve the guilty person from the obligation to compensate for the environmental or ecogenic damage 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 the budget or to special accounts of environmental funds.

Criminal liability for environmental crimes

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 environmental protection.

The state of human health, which, in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, is the highest value, largely depends on the purity of water, air, the quality of the products that it feeds on, and, accordingly, on the purity of the soil. Meanwhile, the degradation of nature is one of the significant factors in reducing the life expectancy of men in Russia over the past 25 years from 71 to 58 years. Based on data on the levels of air pollution in more than 100 cities of Russia, it was revealed that the largest part of the population (15.4 million people) is exposed to suspended solids. According to the results of calculations of the risk of death carried out by the Ministry of Health of Russia, only from air pollution by these substances, the number of deaths is 21,000, which is 7% of the annual deaths among residents of these cities. Who was held responsible for this? Beginning in 1961, the Criminal Code provided for liability for environmental crimes, in particular for air pollution.

Laws of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, legal acts of a legislative (representative) body of state power of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, legal acts of executive authorities of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation and legal acts of their officials that violate the rights and freedoms of man and citizen, the rights of public associations and local governments, may be appealed to judicial order.

As for the act of the highest official of the subject of the Russian Federation (the head of the highest executive body of state power of the subject), acts of the executive authorities of the subject of the Russian Federation, Art. 29 established the right of the President of Russia to suspend their operation in the event that this act conflicts with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal laws, international obligations of the Russian Federation or violates the rights and freedoms of man and citizen until this issue is resolved by the appropriate court.

During the period of validity of the decree of the President of Russia on the suspension of the relevant acts, the highest official of the subject of the Russian Federation (the head of the highest executive body of state power of the subject) and (or) the executive body of the subject of the Russian Federation cannot issue another act that has the same subject of regulation, with the exception of the act , canceling the act, the effect of which was suspended by the President of Russia, or making the necessary changes to it. At the same time, the highest official of a subject of the Russian Federation (the head of the highest executive body of state power of the subject) has the right to apply to the appropriate court to resolve the issue of compliance of the act issued by him or the executive body of the subject of the Russian Federation with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal laws, international obligations of the Russian Federation.

In the cases specified by the Law, the President of Russia issues a warning to the highest official of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation (the head of the highest executive body of state power of the constituent entity). These cases concern:

• publication by the highest official of a subject of the Russian Federation (head of the highest executive body of state power of a subject of the Russian Federation) of a normative legal act that contradicts the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal laws, if such contradictions are established by the appropriate court, and the highest official of a subject of the Russian Federation (head of the highest executive body of state power of a subject of the Russian Federation) within two months from the date of entry into force of the court decision or within another period stipulated by the court decision, has not taken measures within its powers to enforce the court decision;
• evasion by the highest official of a subject of the Russian Federation (the head of the highest executive body of state power of a subject of the Russian Federation) within two months from the date of issuance of a decree of the President of Russia on the suspension of a regulatory legal act of the highest official of a subject of the Russian Federation (the head of the highest executive body of state power of a subject of the Russian Federation) or a regulatory legal an act of an executive authority of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation from issuing a regulatory legal act providing for the abolition of a suspended regulatory legal act, or from making changes to the said act, if within this period the highest official of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation (the head of the highest executive body of state power of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation) has not applied to the appropriate court to resolve the dispute (art. 29.1).

The period during which the President of Russia issues a warning to the highest official of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation (the head of the supreme executive body of state power of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation) cannot exceed six months from the date of entry into force of a court decision or from the date of official publication of a decree of the President of Russia on suspension of a regulatory legal act of the highest official of the subject of the Russian Federation (head of the highest executive body of state power of the subject of the Russian Federation) or a regulatory legal act of the executive body of the subject of the Russian Federation, if the highest official of the subject of the Russian Federation (head of the highest executive body of state power of the subject of the Russian Federation) did not apply to the appropriate court to resolve the dispute .

If within a month from the date of issuance by the President of Russia of a warning to the highest official of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation (the head of the highest executive body of state power of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation), the said person fails to take measures within the limits of his authority to eliminate the reasons that served as the basis for issuing a warning to him, the President of Russia dismisses the highest official person of the subject of the Russian Federation (head of the highest executive body of state power of the subject of the Russian Federation) from the position.

The President of Russia, in accordance with the procedure established by the criminal procedural legislation of the Russian Federation, has the right, upon a reasoned proposal from the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, to temporarily suspend the highest official of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation (the head of the highest executive body of state power of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation) from performing duties in the event that the said person is charged with committing a serious or particularly serious crime.

The decision of the President of Russia to warn the highest official of a subject of the Russian Federation (the head of the highest executive body of state power of a subject of the Russian Federation) or to remove the highest official of a subject of the Russian Federation (the head of the highest executive body of state power of a subject of the Russian Federation) from office is taken in the form of a decree. Such a decree shall enter into force ten days after its official publication.

The highest official of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation (the head of the highest executive body of state power of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation), whose powers were terminated by a decree of the President of Russia on the removal of the said person from office, has the right to appeal this decree to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation within ten days from the date of the official publication of the decree. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation must consider the complaint and make a decision no later than ten days from the date of its filing.

According to Art. 70 of the Federal Law "On the General Principles of the Organization of Local Self-Government in the Russian Federation" local self-government bodies and officials of local self-government are responsible to the population of the municipality, the state, individuals and legal entities in accordance with the law. In particular, the responsibility of local self-government bodies and local self-government officials to the population comes as a result of the loss of public confidence. The procedure and conditions for such liability are determined by the charters of municipalities.

The responsibility of local self-government bodies and officials of local self-government to the state occurs if they violate the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the constitution, the charter of the subject of the Russian Federation, federal laws, the laws of the subject of the Russian Federation, the charter of the municipality (Article 72).

Constitutional responsibility occurs in the event of the adoption of a normative legal act that is contrary to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal constitutional law, federal law, constitution, charter, law of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation, charter of a municipality (Article 73).

The representative body of local self-government, the head of the municipal formation, which has adopted (issued) a normative legal act, which is recognized by the court as contrary to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal constitutional law, federal law, constitution, charter, law of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation, charter of the municipal formation, are obliged to cancel within the time period established by the court decision this normative legal act or some of its provisions, as well as publish information about the court decision within ten days from the date the court decision enters into force.

If the representative body of local self-government, the head of the municipality has not repealed the normative legal act or its individual provisions, which are recognized by the court as contrary to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal constitutional law, federal law, constitution, charter, law of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation, charter of the municipality and at the same time entailed violation (derogation) of the rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen or the occurrence of other harm, then the representative body of local self-government may be dissolved, the powers of the head of the municipality may be prematurely terminated by removing him from office.

If the representative body of local self-government, the head of the municipality has not canceled the normative legal act or its individual provisions in accordance with a court decision that has entered into force, then the legislative (representative) body of state power of the subject of the Russian Federation on its own initiative or at the request of the highest official of the subject The Russian Federation (the head of the highest executive body of state power of a subject of the Russian Federation) warns the representative body of local self-government in writing, and the highest official of the subject of the Russian Federation (the head of the highest executive body of state power of a subject of the Russian Federation) warns the head of the municipality in writing about the possibility of taking measures in accordance with this Federal Law.

If the representative body of local self-government, the head of the municipal formation, within a month from the date of issuance (announcement) of the written warning, did not take measures to enforce the court decision, then the representative body of local self-government may be dissolved, and the head of the municipal formation may be removed from office no later than six months. from the date of entry into force of the court decision, which is the basis for the dissolution of the representative body of local self-government, the dismissal of the head of the municipality from office.

The representative body of local self-government is dissolved by the law of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation or by a federal law, and the head of a municipal formation is dismissed from office by a decree (decree) of the highest official of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation (head of the highest executive body of state power of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation), with the exception of heads of municipal formations - capitals and administrative centers of constituent entities Russian Federation, or by decree of the President of Russia.

If, within three months from the date of entry into force of the court decision, the representative body of local self-government has not repealed a normative legal act or its individual provisions, and the legislative (representative) body of state power of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation has not taken the measures provided for by this Law, the President of Russia has the right submit to the State Duma a draft federal law on the dissolution of the representative body of local self-government.

If within three months from the date of entry into force of the court decision, the head of the municipal formation has not repealed the normative legal act or its individual provisions, and the highest official of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation (the head of the highest executive body of state power of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation) has not taken the measures provided for in this article, then the President Russia has the right to dismiss the head of the municipality from office.

The dismissal of the head of a municipal formation from office and the simultaneous appointment of new elections (if he was elected by the population of the municipal formation) are carried out by a decree (decree) of the highest official of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation (head of the highest executive body of state power of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation) or by a decree of the President of Russia.

In the event that the head of a municipal formation is removed from office, the highest official of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation (the head of the highest executive body of state power of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation) or the President of Russia shall appoint an acting head of the municipal formation for the period until the newly elected head of the municipal formation takes office, unless another procedure is established bylaws of the municipality.

Proposals for the removal by the President of Russia of the head of a municipal formation from office may be submitted by the legislative (representative) body of state power of a subject of the Russian Federation, the highest official of a subject of the Russian Federation (the head of the highest executive body of state power of a subject of the Russian Federation), the Government of the Russian Federation, the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation.

Citizens whose rights and legitimate interests have been violated in connection with the dissolution of the representative body of local self-government, the dismissal of the head of the municipality from office, have the right to appeal the dissolution of the representative body of local self-government, the removal of the head of the municipality from office to the appropriate court (Supreme Court of the Republic, regional, regional courts , the court of a city of federal significance, the court of an autonomous region, the court of an autonomous district) or the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation within ten days from the date of the official publication of the law, decree (decree).

The Supreme Court of the Republic, the regional court, the court of a city of federal significance, the court of an autonomous region, the court of an autonomous district, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation must consider the complaint and make a decision no later than ten days from the date of its filing.

Civil liability for environmental damage

Compensation for environmental damage is regulated mainly by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, the APC of the Russian Federation. A number of important provisions relating to this are also contained in environmental legislation, although it also refers to civil law.

The concept and types of environmental damage. Methods and principles of its compensation

Harm caused by violation of legal environmental requirements is called environmental or ecogenic harm in the doctrine of environmental law.

Environmental damage is understood as any deterioration of the state of the environment that occurred as a result of violation of legal environmental requirements. It primarily manifests itself in the form of environmental pollution, damage, destruction, damage, depletion of natural resources, destruction of ecological systems.

As a result of the named forms of nature degradation, damage to the health and property of citizens and legal entities can be caused. Such harm is called ecogenic. Harm to the health and property of citizens and legal entities by adverse environmental impacts is not always associated with a violation of the requirements of environmental legislation. It can be caused due to natural disasters - earthquakes, floods, etc.

We emphasize that environmental harm has other socially significant manifestations. They relate, in particular, to the demographic sphere: a decrease in life expectancy, a decrease in population growth.

Environmental damage is often associated with the loss of benefits, that is, the non-receipt by the user of natural resources of income that he could receive under normal conditions. For example, a farmer could have had a higher crop yield if the environment had not been polluted.

A new element of environmental damage for Russian environmental law is moral damage. Moral harm may consist in moral feelings due to the inability to continue an active social life, with the loss of a job, as well as physical pain associated with damage to health or in connection with a disease suffered as a result of moral suffering. Since nature satisfies the aesthetic (spiritual) needs of a person, the destruction, for example, of green spaces in cities can also be considered as a factor in causing moral harm and, accordingly, should serve as the basis for its compensation. Appropriate claims may be brought in the context of a violation of the right to a healthy environment.

The legislation provides for judicial and extrajudicial procedures for compensation for environmental damage. The corresponding obligation may be performed by a court decision - general or arbitration. Out-of-court compensation is implemented in a number of ways, including voluntary compensation, through insurance against the risk of environmental harm, and through administrative procedures. The voluntary method of compensation for harm, rarely used in practice, has some advantages for its inflictor, which are still little realized in Russian society. Judicial procedure can create powerful anti-advertising for the enterprise and other tortfeasor, in which they cannot be interested in any way. When the situation regarding environmental damage is obvious, in particular when there is a tortfeasor and his victims, it is sometimes "more profitable" to compensate for the damage voluntarily.

The administrative procedure for compensation for environmental damage is applied, as a rule, in case of accidents and natural disasters that have environmental consequences, by taking measures for the socio-economic protection of the affected population. As other forms of compensation for such harm in the administrative procedure, one can consider the issuance of a temporary disability certificate, the registration of disability.

Compensation for damage to human health and property caused by adverse environmental impacts

The legislation establishes the principle of full compensation for harm caused to the health and property of citizens by the adverse effects of the environment. According to the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection", harm caused to the health and property of citizens by the negative impact of the environment as a result of economic and other activities of legal entities and individuals is subject to compensation in full. Determination of the volume and amount of compensation for harm caused to the health and property of citizens as a result of violation of legislation in the field of environmental protection is carried out in accordance with the law.

The previous Law "On the Protection of the Environment" indicated specific factors that should be taken into account when determining the amount of harm caused to the health of citizens: the degree of disability of the victim, the necessary costs for treatment and restoration of health, the costs of caring for the sick, other expenses, including lost professional opportunities, costs associated with the need to change the place of residence and lifestyle, profession, as well as losses associated with moral injuries, the inability to have children or the risk of having children with congenital pathology.

The usual practice for Russia to compensate for damage to the health of citizens as a result of environmental pollution (as a special case of damage to health in general) is to receive temporary disability benefits. In accordance with the Fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation on the protection of the health of citizens, the corresponding decision is made on the basis of a special examination. Examination of temporary disability is carried out by the attending physicians of the state, municipal and private healthcare systems. They single-handedly issue certificates of incapacity for work to citizens for up to 30 days, and for a longer period, certificates for incapacity for work are issued by a medical commission appointed by the head of the medical institution.

During the examination of temporary disability, the need and timing of the temporary or permanent transfer of the employee for health reasons to another job are determined, and a decision is made to send the citizen in the prescribed manner to the medical and social expert commission, including if the citizen has signs of disability.

If there are signs of disability, that is, a health disorder with a persistent disorder of body functions due to a disease or other causes that leads to a limitation of life and necessitates social protection, the appropriate decision is made based on the results of a medical and social examination. In accordance with the Fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation on the protection of the health of citizens, a medical and social examination is carried out by institutions of medical and social examination of the system of the Ministry of Social Protection of the Population of the Russian Federation upon a written application by a person with signs of disability, or his legal representative.

Along with the material support of the disabled, including cash payments for various reasons, the legislation provides for benefits for medical care, housing, benefits for working conditions, social and transport services, and sanatorium treatment.

The provision of social and economic protection measures, benefits and compensations to citizens affected by the adverse effects of the environment, received regulatory formalization after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Such measures, benefits and compensations are stipulated, in particular, by the Law "On Social Protection of Citizens Exposed to Radiation as a Result of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Catastrophe" and other laws.

So, citizens who have received or suffered radiation sickness, other diseases, and disabled people as a result of the Chernobyl disaster, the Law guarantees:

• free medical care (inpatient and outpatient), free purchase of medicines (by prescription), free production and repair of dental prostheses (with the exception of prostheses made of precious metals), free annual provision of spa treatment or cash compensation in the amount of the average cost vouchers, etc.;
• payment of temporary disability benefits to working disabled people for up to four consecutive months or up to five months in a calendar year in the amount of 100% of actual earnings without limitation of two tariff rates (salaries);
• payment for the occupied living space (within the limits stipulated by the current legislation), including for members of their families living with them, in the amount of 50% of the rent calculated at the rates established for workers and employees, as well as providing a discount of 50 % from the established fee for the use of telephones, radios and for their installation, for the use of heating, water supply, gas and electricity, and for those living in houses without central heating - a discount of 50% on the cost of fuel purchased within the limits, established for sale to the public, including transportation costs;
• free travel on all types of urban passenger transport (except taxis) and on public transport (except taxis) in rural areas, as well as on suburban railway and water transport and on suburban buses, free travel with the right to purchase tickets in priority on the railway by road or on ships of transit and local lines of the river fleet once a year (round trip), and in areas that do not have a railway connection - by air, water or intercity road transport;
• other significant benefits.

Issues of insurance of the risk of causing harm to the health or property of citizens from environmental pollution are to some extent considered within the framework of environmental insurance in the section "Economic and legal mechanism for nature management and environmental protection". Environmental insurance is a guarantee that a citizen who has insured his health and property against the risk of harm due to unforeseen pollution or other adverse changes in the environment will receive appropriate compensation.

It can be expected that in Russia the issue of compulsory environmental insurance of citizens against the risk of adverse effects on human health of environmentally hazardous objects will be resolved. At present, compulsory free personal insurance against the risk of radiation exposure at the expense of the owners or owners (users) of nuclear facilities is provided for by the Federal Law "On the Use of Atomic Energy".

In other cases, citizens can insure their lives, health and property on their own initiative, receiving appropriate compensation upon the occurrence of an insured event. Such a case is only emergency (sudden, unintentional) pollution of the environment, i.e. an accident at a technical facility with environmental consequences, or, according to experts, an environmental accident.

If a citizen who has suffered from the adverse effects of the environment claims full compensation for damage to health or property, in accordance with the procedure established by law, he must declare his claims in court. The victim himself, members of his family, a prosecutor authorized by the state administration body, a public organization (association), representing the interests of the victim, may file a lawsuit with the court. At the same time, the victim must substantiate his claims and provide evidence of harm to health or property, the presence of a causal relationship between the harm caused and environmental pollution, as well as a causal relationship between environmental pollution and the activities of polluters - enterprises, institutions, organizations and citizens.

If a person is recognized as disabled due to an environmentally determined disease, the source of the disease, as well as causal relationships, can be established through a medical and social examination. In other cases, all this must be documented by the victim himself, by submitting to the court a certificate of health, an act (certificate) of the state environmental control body on the fact of environmental pollution at a certain time and in a certain territory, and a certificate from the place of work, place of residence (local authority self-government, passport police department or house management), confirming that the victim was at that time in this place and, therefore, was exposed to harmful effects of the environment. In practice, proving a causal relationship in the area under consideration is an extremely difficult matter.

When preparing materials for filing a claim for compensation for harm caused to health by environmental pollution, the plaintiff substantiates the amount of damage and the amount of compensation. When considering a case, the court hears the arguments of the parties, checks the legality, correctness and validity of the calculations, as well as all other legal and factual circumstances of the case, and makes a decision on this basis.

The subjects of liability for causing harm to the health and property of citizens by environmental offenses can be both legal entities and citizens-entrepreneurs, as well as state bodies and their officials. According to Art. 53 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, everyone has the right to compensation by the state for damage caused by illegal actions (or inaction) of state bodies and their officials. At the same time, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation establishes that harm caused to a citizen (as well as a legal entity) as a result of illegal actions (inaction) of state bodies, local government bodies or officials of these bodies, including as a result of the issuance of an act that does not comply with the law or other legal act state body or local self-government body, is subject to compensation. It is reimbursed at the expense of the treasury of the Russian Federation, the treasury of the subject of the Russian Federation or the treasury of the municipality, respectively (Article 1069).

It is also important to know that along with compensation for damage to health and property caused by an environmental offense, a citizen has the right to compensation for losses associated with moral injuries or moral damage.

Liability for environmental damage caused by a source of increased danger

Compensation for harm caused by a source of increased danger to the environment is characterized by significant specifics. It manifests itself in the fact that responsibility for environmental damage caused by such sources comes without fault. In world practice, such responsibility is called strict or absolute. The objects of environmental damage are also specific.

Liability for harm caused by activities that create an increased danger to others is regulated by Art. 1079 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The objects of increased danger of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation include means, mechanisms, high-voltage electrical energy, nuclear energy, explosives, potent poisons, etc., as well as the implementation of construction and other related activities, etc.

By the court from liability in whole or in part, if the gross negligence of the victim himself contributed to the occurrence or increase of harm.

This is the type of legal liability that most often occurs 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.

In Art. 24 Administrative Code 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 (art. 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);
• · Failure to comply with the obligation 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 (Art. 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 timber, harvesting resin (Article 62);
• · illegal felling and damage of trees and bushes, destruction and damage of forest cultures and young growth (art. 63);
• · destruction or damage of undergrowth in forests (art. 64);
• · implementation of forest uses not in accordance with the purposes 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 (art. 66);
• · damage to hayfields and pastures on the lands of the state forest fund (Article 67);
• · unauthorized haymaking and grazing, unauthorized collection of wild fruits, nuts, mushrooms, berries (Article 68);
• collection of wild fruits, nuts and berries in violation of the established deadlines (Article 69);
• · Commissioning of production facilities without devices to 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 of 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);
• · putting into operation of vehicles and other mobile vehicles with excess of standards for the content of pollutants in emissions (Art. 80);
• · exploitation 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 the 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 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 of 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 the 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 is entitled 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 responsibility 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.