According to the Constitution, every citizen has the right to a favorable environment. At the same time, the obligation arises to preserve nature, to take care of its riches. Natural resources act as the basis for sustainable development, the life of all the peoples of Russia. Legal regulation of the sphere of nature protection is carried out by the corresponding Federal Law.

Environmental Protection Law: General Information

The normative act establishes the principles in accordance with which the protection of nature is carried out. The legal foundations of the document ensure a balance in resolving socio-economic issues, preserving favorable environmental conditions, biological diversity and resources to meet the needs of present and future generations, and monitoring the implementation of the requirements of environmental legislation. A normative act regulates relations that are formed in the process of carrying out economic and other activities related to the impact on nature.

Principles

The Federal Law "On Environmental Protection" defines general requirements for entities conducting economic and other activities that affect nature. The functioning of enterprises and the work of citizens should be carried out in accordance with the following principles:

Objects to be protected

Their list is established by the 7th Federal Law (Federal Law "On Environmental Protection"). Objects subject to protection from depletion, pollution, damage, degradation, destruction and other negative impact of economic or other activities include:

Special categories

The RF Law "On Environmental Protection" establishes a list of objects subject to priority protection. These include ecosystems, natural complexes and landscapes that have not been subjected to anthropogenic influence. The Law "On Environmental Protection" also defines the category of objects subject to special protection. This list includes:

• state reserves, sanctuaries;
• botanical gardens;
• natural monuments;
• dendrological and national parks;
• health-improving and resort areas;
• permanent living environment of small indigenous peoples.

In this category, the Law "On Environmental Protection" includes objects included in the World Heritage List, as well as those of special historical, cultural, scientific, recreational, aesthetic or other valuable value, disappearing and rare soils, forests and other vegetation, animals and other organisms and their ranges.

Citizens' rights

The Federal Law "On Environmental Protection" was adopted in pursuance of the Constitutional provisions related to the field of environmental safety. In this regard, the normative act spelled out the rights of citizens in this area. In particular, the Law "On Environmental Protection" establishes that every Russian can send appeals to state, regional or local authorities, organizations and officials for timely receipt of complete and reliable data on the state of nature in the territory of their residence. Citizens also have the right to get acquainted with information on environmental safety measures. The Law "On Environmental Protection" allows the formation of public associations, other non-profit structures (foundations, etc.) to carry out activities related to the protection of nature. Citizens can participate in demonstrations, processions, rallies, picketing, referendums, collecting signatures for the adoption of petitions on environmental issues, as well as in other actions that do not contradict regulatory enactments. The Law "On Environmental Protection" provides for the right of individuals to apply to the court with claims for compensation for damage to nature.

Duties

In accordance with the law, citizens must:

1. Protect natural resources.
2. Conserve the environment.
3. Comply with other environmental requirements.

Interaction with government agencies

Citizens have the right to put forward proposals for the implementation of environmental impact assessment and take part in it in accordance with the established procedure. Individuals can assist local, state or regional authorities in addressing environmental issues. The Law "On Environmental Protection" provides for the right of any citizen to apply to authorized structures with statements, complaints and proposals regarding the protection of nature.

The system of legal protection of nature in Russia includes four groups of legal measures:

1) legal regulation of relations on the use, conservation and renewal of natural resources;

2) organization of education and training of personnel, financing and material and technical support of environmental actions;

3) state and

public control over the implementation of environmental protection requirements;

4) legal responsibility of offenders.

In accordance with environmental legislation object legal protection is the natural environment - an objective reality that exists outside of a person and regardless of his consciousness, serving as a habitat, a condition and means of his existence.

Sources of environmental law the normative legal acts that contain legal norms governing environmental relations are recognized. These include laws, decrees, decrees and orders, regulations of ministries and departments, laws and regulations of the constituent entities of the Federation. Finally, among the sources of environmental law, a large place is occupied by international legal acts regulating internal environmental relations on the basis of the primacy of international law.

As a result of the last codification, a system of environmental legislation has developed, which is based on three fundamental normative acts: the Declaration of the First Congress of People's Deputies of the RSFSR on the state sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1990), the Declaration of the rights and freedoms of man and citizen (1991) and the Constitution of the Russian Federation, adopted as a result of a popular vote on December 12, 1993.

Environmental legislation system, guided by the ideas of the fundamental constitutional acts, includes two subsystems:

• environmental
• natural resource legislation.

In environmental legislation includes Federal Law No. 7-ФЗ dated January 10, 2002 "On Environmental Protection" and other legislative acts of comprehensive legal regulation.

Into the subsystem of natural resource legislation includes: the Land Code of the Russian Federation (Federal Law No. 136 of October 25, 2001), the Law of the Russian Federation dated February 21, 1992, No. 2395-1 "On Subsoil", the Forest Code of the Russian Federation (Federal Law No. 200 dated December 4, 2006), Water RF Code (Federal Law No. 74 of 06/03/2006), Federal Law No. 52-FZ of April 24, 1995 “On the Animal World”, as well as other legislative and regulatory acts.

In the Constitution of the Russian Federation reflects the main provisions of the environmental strategy of the state and the main directions of strengthening the environmental law and order. The Constitution of the Russian Federation introduces into scientific circulation the definition of human environmental activity in the field of interaction between society and nature: nature management, environmental protection, environmental safety.

Part 1 of Art. 9, which indicates that land and other natural resources in the Russian Federation are used and protected as the basis for the life and activities of the peoples living in the corresponding territory.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation contains two very important norms, one of which (Article 42) enshrines the right of every person to a favorable environment, reliable information about its condition and to compensation for damage caused to his health or property, and the other proclaims the right of citizens and legal entities on private ownership of land and other natural resources (part 2 of article 9). The first concerns the biological principles of man, the second - his material foundations of existence.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation also formalizes the organizational and legal relationship between the Federation and the subjects of the Federation. According to Art. 72 use, possession and disposal of land, subsoil, water and other natural resources, nature management, environmental protection and environmental safety are the joint competence of the Federation and the constituent entities of the Federation.

On the subject of its jurisdiction, the Russian Federation adopts federal laws, which are binding on the territory of the entire country. The subjects of the Federation have the right to their own regulation of environmental relations, including the adoption of laws and other regulations. The Constitution of the Russian Federation establishes a general rule: laws and other legal acts of the constituent entities of the Federation must not contradict federal laws. The provision of the Constitution of the Russian Federation is concretized in the sources of environmental law.

Federal Law "On Environmental Protection" determines the legal framework of state policy in the field of environmental protection, ensuring a balanced solution to socio-economic problems, preserving a favorable environment, biological diversity and natural resources in order to meet the needs of present and future generations, strengthening the rule of law in the field of environmental protection and ensuring environmental safety.

The following legal provisions are enshrined in 16 chapters of the Law:

• fundamentals of management in the field of environmental protection;
• rights and obligations of citizens, public and other non-profit associations in the field of environmental protection;
• economic regulation in the field of environmental protection;
• rationing in the field of environmental protection;
• environmental impact assessment and ecological expertise;
• requirements in the field of environmental protection in the implementation of economic activities;
• zones of ecological disasters, zones of emergency situations;
• state environmental monitoring (state environmental monitoring);
• control in the field of environmental protection (environmental control);
• scientific research in the field of environmental protection;
• the foundations of the formation of ecological culture;
• international cooperation in the field of environmental protection.

Protecting human health and well-being is the ultimate goal of protecting the natural environment... Therefore, in the legislative acts aimed at protecting the health of citizens, environmental requirements occupy a leading place. In this sense, the source of environmental law is the Federal Law of March 30, 1999 No. 52-FZ "On the sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population." It regulates sanitary relations related to health protection from the adverse effects of the external environment - industrial, household, natural. The environmental requirements expressed in the articles of the Law are at the same time sources of environmental law. For example, the norms of Art. 18 of the Law on burial, processing, neutralization and disposal of industrial and household waste, etc.

Another source of environmental law is the Federal Law "On the Fundamentals of Health Protection of Citizens in the Russian Federation" dated November 21, 2011 No. 323-FZ. It contains a rule that ensures the environmental rights of citizens. So, Art. 18 states that: “Everyone has the right to health care. The right to health protection is ensured by environmental protection ... "

Legal norms for the protection of nature and rational use of natural resources are also contained in other acts of the natural resource legislation of Russia. These include the Forest Code of the Russian Federation, the Water Code of the Russian Federation, the Federal Law "On the Animal World", etc.

The range of environmental issues on which decrees and orders of the President of the Russian Federation can be issued is practically unlimited. Among them is the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of February 4, 1994, No. 238 "On the state strategy of the Russian Federation for environmental protection and sustainable development."

On the basis of and in pursuance of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal laws, normative decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation issues decrees and orders, and is also responsible for their implementation. The decree of the Government of the Russian Federation is also a normative legal act. In accordance with Art. 114 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation The Government of the Russian Federation ensures the implementation in the Russian Federation of a unified state policy in the field of science, culture, education, health care, social security, and ecology.

Resolutions of the Government of the Russian Federation on environmental issues can be divided into three groups.

• The first group includes those that are adopted in pursuance of the law to concretize individual provisions.
• The second group of regulations is intended to determine the competence of management and control bodies.
• The third group of resolutions includes normative legal acts for further legal regulation of environmental relations.

Environmental ministries and departments are empowered to issue regulations within their competence. They are intended for mandatory execution by other ministries and departments, individuals and legal entities.

Regulatory rules play an important role - sanitary, construction, technical and economic, technological and so on. These include environmental quality standards: standards of permissible radiation, noise level, vibration, etc. These standards are technical rules, and in this form they are not considered as sources of law. Departmental regulations can be canceled by the Government of the Russian Federation if they contradict the law. Acts come into force only after registration with the Ministry of Justice and publication in the newspaper Rossiiskie Vesti. According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the constituent entities of the Federation also have the right to adopt laws and other normative legal acts on issues within their jurisdiction. Representative and executive authorities of republics, territories, regions, autonomous formations, cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, Sevastopol have the right to engage in normative activities.

The sphere of competence of the constituent entities of the Federation is determined by sectoral legislative acts: on land use - by the Land Code of the Russian Federation, on subsoil - by the Law of the Russian Federation "On Subsoil", water use - by the Water Code of the Russian Federation, on the use of wildlife - by the Federal Law "On the Wildlife", on the environment - Federal Law "On Environmental Protection". This division of legal regulation is based on the attitude to natural resources. The procedure for classifying natural resources as federal or otherwise is regulated by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation on federal resources. The Constitution of the Russian Federation (Art. 76) establishes laws and other normative legal acts of the constituent entities of the Federation should not contradict the Constitution of the Russian Federation and federal laws. In the event of a contradiction between the normative acts of the constituent entities of the Federation and the articles of federal laws, the former are subject to cancellation by a decree of the President of the Russian Federation or a decree of the Government of the Russian Federation. In addition to special normative legal acts of environmental content, in recent years, the greening of normative acts regulating the economic, economic and administrative activities of enterprises has been widely used. Under greening understand the introduction of environmental requirements into normative legal acts of non-environmental content. The need for such a process is explained by the fact that environmental laws may not always directly relate to economic entities engaged in various areas of production.

Thus, the Law of the Russian Federation of February 7, 1992 No. 2300-1 "On Protection of Consumer Rights" (Article 7) gives the consumer the right to demand that the goods be safe for his life. It also gives the right to the authorities to suspend the sale of goods if there is a threat to the health of citizens or the state of the environment. The laws on local self-government, taxation of legal entities reflect various incentives for reducing emissions, using clean technologies, etc.

The Federal Law “On Environmental Protection”, adopted on January 10, 2002, is a systematized, comprehensive normative legal act in the field of environmental protection. It regulates the main social relations in the field of nature management and environmental protection.

General characteristics of the law

This law determined the main tasks and mechanism for regulating relations in the field of interaction between society and individuals. He laid the foundations for the progressive development of environmental legislation as a new generation of legislation. This law is characterized by the following features:

The law is a complex normative act that regulates environmental relations as a whole without differentiation by individual natural objects. It formulates the main provisions that help prevent harm to the environment and ensure compliance with environmental requirements. These include: the creation of an economic mechanism for environmental protection, regulation of state environmental expertise, responsibility for environmental offenses.

The law is a basic normative act, the provisions of which are developed and specified in other acts of environmental legislation. Separate sections of this law subsequently became the basis for the development of other federal laws and other normative acts of environmental legislation.

The law establishes the priority of protecting human life and health from the adverse effects of the environment. Protection of the natural environment is not an end in itself, the main goal is to prevent the harmful effects of the environment on the human body. From this point of view, the main legal institutions of environmental protection operate. In particular, human health is the main criterion for setting environmental standards.

The law proceeds from a scientifically based combination of environmental

the social and economic interests of society. The principle of the balance between the environmental and economic interests of society is fundamental in the concept of sustainable development, formulated at the UN conferences in 1972 and 1992. In our legislation, this principle is reflected in such a compromise formulation

The law establishes a system of economic incentives for environmental protection activities in combination with administrative and legal measures. This combination allows, on the one hand, the state to control the activities of nature users, since natural resources are the property of the whole society, on the other hand, the introduction of market mechanisms creates the preconditions for the rational use of natural resources.

The law consists of a preamble, 16 chapters and 84 articles.

Normative acts for the rational use of natural resources

As noted above, among the laws that regulate environmental legal relations, two groups can be distinguished: environmental and natural resources.

Natural resource normative acts regulate social relations that develop in the field of rational use of certain types of natural resources and natural objects: land, bowels, water, forests, atmospheric air, fauna, specially protected areas.

The group of federal laws, which are fundamental normative acts, includes the following: the Land Code of the Russian Federation, the Law of the Russian Federation "On Subsoil", the Water Code of the Russian Federation, the Forestry Code of the Russian Federation, the Federal Law "On the Protection of Atmospheric Air", Federal Law of March 14, 1995 No. No. 33-FZ “On Specially Protected Natural Areas”, Federal Law “On the Animal World”.

These normative acts are characterized by the presence of some common features.

1. Natural resources can be in different forms of ownership, but they are a specific object of their own

ness, but they are a specific object of property, since they are used by the whole society, and therefore the state restricts ownership of natural resources, establishing certain rights and obligations of owners, determining the intended purpose of natural resources.

Significant, from the point of view of legal regulation, is the content of the concept “protection and rational use of a natural resource.” What qualities of a natural resource are priority? For example, water can be used for drinking, for household needs, as a navigable route, etc. If water is used as a navigable route, then its purity is not critical. Legislation specifies that the priority of water quality is its suitability for drinking, i.e. purity.

Compliance with any prescriptions is impossible without responsibility. A rule of law is not a recommendation, but a command, behind which is the authority of the state.

These legislative acts provide for liability for violation of the relevant legislation (land, water, forestry, etc.), and the measures of liability may have their own specific features.

Let us consider in more detail the two main federal laws on natural resources.

Land Code regulates relations in the field of use and protection of water bodies (water relations) in order to ensure the right of citizens to clean water and a favorable water environment. These goals are achieved through the following activities:

maintaining optimal conditions for water use, the quality of surface and groundwater in a state that meets sanitary and environmental requirements;

protection of water bodies from pollution, clogging and depletion;

prevention or elimination of harmful effects of water, as well as conservation of biological diversity of aquatic ecosystems.

The Water Code of the Russian Federation provides for the following obligations of water users: rationally use water bodies; prevent violations of the rights of other water users, as well as inflict

harm to human health and the natural environment; to prevent deterioration of the quality of surface and ground waters, habitats of flora and fauna; inform state authorities about emergencies and other emergencies affecting the state of water bodies.

The Water Code of the Russian Federation stipulates that “persons guilty of violating the water legislation of the Russian Federation bear administrative and criminal responsibility in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation” (Article 130). If damage is caused to a water body, then the persons guilty of this are obliged to compensate for the damage.

Self-test questions

What are the main regulatory legal acts that regulate the use of certain natural resources and the protection of the natural environment.

Describe the main stages of the formation of Russian legislation.

Give a general description of the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection".

What social relations are regulated by natural resource regulations?

Give a description of the Land Code of the Russian Federation.

Give a description of the Water Code of the Russian Federation.

What obligations of land users are stipulated by the Land Code of the Russian Federation?

The structure and summary of the law of the Russian Federation "on environmental protection"

Section 1. General Provisions.

This section defines the following: the objectives of the environmental legislation of the Russian Federation, the system of environmental legislation, the basic principles of environmental protection, objects of environmental protection, the competence of state authorities at various levels in the field of environmental protection.

The system of environmental legislation is built on the same principle as the head law.

Section 2. The right of citizens to a healthy favorable environment.

The right of citizens to health protection from the adverse effects of the natural environment caused by economic or other activities is consolidated; consequences of accidents, catastrophes, natural disasters, which is provided by:

• - planning and regulation of the quality of the natural environment;
• - social insurance of citizens;
• - providing real opportunities for living in favorable conditions for life and health;
• - compensation for harm caused to health;
• - state control over the state of the natural environment.

Section 3. The economic mechanism of environmental protection.

This section covers the following:

• - tasks of the economic mechanism;
• - the need to maintain inventories of natural resources;
• - sources of financing for environmental activities;
• - the procedure for issuing a license for integrated nature management;
• - limits on the use of natural resources (removal of natural resources, emissions and discharges of pollutants into the environment, disposal of production waste);
• - types of payments for natural resources (for the right to use natural resources within the established limits, for over-limit and irrational use of natural resources, for the reproduction and protection of natural resources);
• - a mechanism for economic incentives for environmental protection (tax rebates, deferred payment, preferential loans, incentive prices and premiums for environmentally friendly products, etc.).

Section 4. Rationing of the quality of the natural environment.

The section provides the basic requirements for the regulation of the quality of the natural environment, provides a list of maximum permissible norms of impact on the natural environment.

Section 5. State ecological expertise.

The section defines the purpose of the state environmental impact assessment (verification of the compliance of economic and other activities with the environmental safety of the company), the objects of the examination, the possibility of conducting a public environmental impact assessment.

Section 6. Environmental requirements for placement, design, construction, reconstruction, commissioning of enterprises, structures and other facilities.

In this section, attention is paid to the need to take into account environmental safety in the development of feasibility studies (FS) of projects.

Section 7. Environmental requirements for the operation of enterprises, structures, other facilities and other activities.

The section provides environmental requirements separately:

• - in agriculture;
• - during reclamation work;
• - to power facilities;
• - during the reconstruction and construction of cities and other settlements;
• - when using chemicals;
• - to military and defense facilities.

Section 8. Environmental emergencies.

The law provides for the allocation of two types of crisis zones:

• 1. Zones of an ecological emergency - areas of the territory of the Russian Federation where, as a result of economic and other activities, there are stable negative changes in the natural environment that threaten the health of the population, the state of natural ecological systems, genetic funds of animals and plants;
• 2. Zones of ecological disaster - territories where profound irreversible changes in the natural environment have taken place, resulting in a significant deterioration in the health of the population, disruption of the natural balance, destruction of ecosystems, degradation of flora and fauna.

Such zones are declared by decrees of the Government of the Russian Federation, decrees of the President of the Russian Federation on the basis of the conclusion of the state ecological expertise. In Russia, the following are recognized as such zones: Kuznetsk coal basin of the Kemerovo region, Nizhniy Tagil of the Sverdlovsk region, Bratsk, Irkutsk region.

Section 9. Specially protected natural territories and objects.

The section defines the conditions for classifying natural objects as specially protected, their legal regime and protection measures.

Section 10. Environmental control.

The section defines the tasks of environmental control:

• - monitoring the state of the environment and its change;
• - verification of the fulfillment of plans and measures for nature protection, rational use of natural resources, improvement of the natural environment, compliance with the requirements of environmental legislation and environmental quality standards;

As well as the levels of environmental control:

• - state;
• - production;
• - public.

Section 11. Environmental education, education, research.

The section talks about the need for universal, comprehensive and continuous environmental education and training, as well as the obligation of environmental knowledge in educational institutions, preventive environmental training of managers and specialists, and scientific environmental research.

Section 12. Resolution of disputes in the field of environmental protection.

The law determines the possibility of resolving disputes between legal entities and individuals in court.

Section 13. Liability for Environmental Offenses.

The section provides a definition of environmental offenses (guilty, illegal acts that violate environmental legislation), according to the methods of applying sanctions, 4 types of environmental legal responsibility are distinguished:

• 1. Disciplinary (to individuals) - for non-fulfillment of plans and measures for the protection of nature and the rational use of natural resources, violation of the quality standards of the environment and the requirements of environmental legislation arising from the job function or official position;
• 2. Material (to individuals) - in the form of reimbursement of expenses of an enterprise, institution or organization to eliminate harm caused by an environmental offense;
• 3. Administrative (to individuals and legal entities) - for committing environmental offenses in the form of fines;
• 4. Criminal (to individuals) - for committing an environmental crime.

Section 14. Compensation for damage caused by an environmental offense.

The law determines the obligation of full compensation for harm, the procedure for its compensation (voluntarily, by court decision). Harm can be caused by:

• - environment;
• - health;
• - property.

Section 15. International cooperation in the field of environmental protection.

The section describes the principles and types of international cooperation.

The system of environmental legislation based on fundamental constitutional acts includes two subsystems: environmental and natural resource legislation.

The main law is the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which introduces into scientific circulation the definition of human environmental activity in the field of interaction between society and nature: nature management, environmental protection, environmental safety.

The central place among the environmental norms of the Constitution of the Russian Federation is occupied by Art. 9, part 1, which states that land and other natural resources in the Russian Federation are used and protected as the basis of the life and activities of the peoples living in the corresponding territory.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation contains two very important norms, one of which (Article 42) enshrines the human right to a favorable environment and to compensation for damage caused to his health or property, and the other proclaims the right of citizens and legal entities to private ownership of land and others. natural resources (Article 9, Part 2).

The first concerns the biological principles of man, the second - his material foundations of existence.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation also formalizes the organizational and legal relationship between the Federation and the subjects of the Federation. The current system of legislative and regulatory acts in the field of environmental protection, environmental safety and rational use of natural resources in accordance with the requirements of the Constitution of the Russian Federation is illustrated in Table. one.

On the subject of its jurisdiction, the Russian Federation adopts federal laws, which are binding on the territory of the entire country. Subjects of the Russian Federation have the right to their own regulation of environmental relations, including the adoption of laws and other regulations. The Constitution of the Russian Federation establishes a general rule: laws and other legal acts of the constituent entities of the Federation must not contradict federal laws. The provision of the Constitution of the Russian Federation is concretized in the sources of environmental law.

Firstly, this Law is the main legislative act, the subject of regulation of which is environmental relations.

Table 1.

By regulating these relations, it sets as its goal the solution of three tasks: preserving the natural environment, preventing and eliminating the harmful effects of economic activity on nature and human health, improving and improving the quality of the environmental protection system.

The law heads the system of environmental legislation, i.e., in matters of environmental protection regulations, the norms of other laws should not contradict this legislation.

Secondly, the main direction of the Law is to ensure a scientifically grounded combination of environmental and economic interests with the priority of health protection and natural human rights to a healthy environment. As such a justification are the maximum permissible norms of the impact of economic activities on the natural environment. Exceeding these standards is an environmental offense.

Thirdly, in contrast to sectoral laws (for example, the foundations of land legislation), the Law formulates requirements for sources of harmful effects on the natural environment, i.e., for enterprises, institutions and organizations that have a harmful effect on the natural environment.

Fourth, the central theme of the Law is a person, the protection of his life and health from the adverse effects of environmental protection. In the Law, a person is considered both as a subject of impact on the natural environment, who is responsible for his activities, and as a subject of such impact, endowed with guarantees for compensation for harm caused.

Fifthly, the norms of the Law establish the mechanism for its implementation, which consists of a system that includes economic incentives for the business executive in the OOPS and measures of administrative and legal impact on violators of environmental and legal regulations. The law establishes the economic mechanism of an environmental protection system, as well as the obligation of state environmental expertise, state environmental control, its powers to suspend, restrict, terminate the activities of environmentally harmful industries, measures of administrative and criminal liability for environmental offenses, compensation for harm to the natural environment and human health, environmental education and upbringing.

The effectiveness of this mechanism depends on the level of organizational activity of the surveillance and control bodies for the environmental protection system, on the material, technical and financial support of environmental protection measures, on the executive discipline, as well as the state of environmental culture in society.