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

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

2) organization of education and training of personnel, financing and logistical support of environmental activities;

3) state and

public control over the fulfillment of environmental protection requirements;

4) legal liability 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, condition and means of his existence.

Sources of environmental law normative legal acts are recognized, which contain legal norms regulating environmental relations. These include laws, decrees, resolutions and orders, regulations of ministries and departments, laws and regulations of the subjects 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 international law.

As a result of the last codification, a system of environmental legislation has developed, which is based on three fundamental normative acts: Declaration of the First Congress people's deputies RSFSR on the State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1990), Declaration of the Rights and Freedoms of Man and Citizen (1991) and the Constitution Russian Federation taken as a result popular vote December 12, 1993

Environmental Legislation System, guided by the ideas of fundamental constitutional acts, includes two subsystems:

• environmental
• natural resource legislation.

In environmental legislation includes the Federal Law of January 10, 2002 No. 7-FZ “On the Protection environment» and other legislative acts of complex legal regulation.

To the subsystem of natural resource legislation includes: Land Code of the Russian Federation (FZ No. 136 of 10/25/2001), Law of the Russian Federation of February 21, 1992 No. 2395-1 "On Subsoil", Forest Code of the Russian Federation (FZ No. 200 of 04.12.2006), Water Code of the Russian Federation (FZ No. 74 of June 3, 2006), Federal Law No. 52-FZ of April 24, 1995 “On the Wildlife”, as well as other legislative and regulatory acts.

In the Constitution of the Russian Federation the main provisions of the environmental strategy of the state and the main directions of strengthening the environmental law and order are reflected. 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, ensuring environmental safety.

Part 1 of Art. 9, which states that the land and other Natural resources in the Russian Federation are used and protected as the basis of life and activity of the peoples living in the respective territory.

There are two very important norms in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, one of which (Article 42) enshrines the right of every person to a favorable environment, reliable information about its condition and compensation for damage caused to his health or property, and the other proclaims the right of citizens and legal entities for private ownership of land and other natural resources (Part 2, 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 relations between the Federation and the subjects of the Federation. According to Art. 72 the use, possession and disposal of land, subsoil, water and other natural resources, nature management, environmental protection and ensuring environmental safety are the joint competence of the Federation and the subjects of the Federation.

On the subject of its jurisdiction, the Russian Federation adopts federal laws that are binding throughout the 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 general rule: laws and other legal acts of the subjects of the Federation should not contradict federal laws. The provision of the Constitution of the Russian Federation is specified in the sources of environmental law.

Federal Law "On Environmental Protection" defines the legal foundations of the state policy in the field of environmental protection, ensuring a balanced solution of socio-economic problems, maintaining a favorable environment, biodiversity and natural resources in order to meet the needs of present and future generations, strengthen the rule of law in the field of environmental protection and ensure environmental safety.

The following legal provisions are fixed 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;
• standardization in the field of environmental protection;
• environmental impact assessment and ecological expertise;
• requirements in the field of environmental protection in the implementation economic activity;
• zones of ecological disaster, 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;
• bases of formation of ecological culture;
• international cooperation in the field of environmental protection.

Protecting health and ensuring human well-being is the ultimate goal of protecting the natural environment. Therefore, in legislative acts aimed at protecting the health of citizens, environmental requirements occupy a leading place. In this sense, the Federal Law of March 30, 1999 No. 52-FZ “On the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population” serves as a source of environmental law. It regulates sanitary relations related to the protection of health from adverse effects. external environment- industrial, household, natural. 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 Basics of Protecting the Health of Citizens in the Russian Federation” dated November 21, 2011 No. 323-FZ. It has a norm that ensures the environmental rights of citizens. Yes, Art. 18 states that: “Everyone has the right to health care. The right to health protection is ensured by the protection of the environment…”

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

Based on and in pursuance of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal laws, regulatory decrees of the President of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation issues resolutions and orders, being also responsible for their implementation. The Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation is also a regulatory 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, healthcare, social security, ecology.

Decrees 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 specify individual provisions.
• The second group of resolutions is intended to determine the competence of the governing and control bodies.
• The third group of resolutions includes normative legal acts of 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.

Regulations play an important role sanitary, construction, technical and economic, technological etc. These include environmental quality standards: norms 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 normative acts may 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 Rossiyskiye Vesti newspaper. According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the subjects of the Federation also have the right to adopt laws and other regulatory legal acts on issues within their jurisdiction. The representative and executive authorities of the republics, territories, regions, autonomous entities, the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, Sevastopol have the right to engage in norm-setting activities.

The scope of competence of the subjects of the Federation is determined by sectoral legislative acts: for land use - the Land Code of the Russian Federation, for subsoil - the Law of the Russian Federation "On Subsoil", for water use - the Water Code of the Russian Federation, for the use of wildlife - the Federal Law "On the Animal World", for the environment natural environment- Federal Law "On Environmental Protection". This division of legal regulation is based on the attitude towards 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 (Article 76) establishes laws and other normative legal acts of the constituent entities of the Federation must 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 regulatory legal acts of environmental content in last years the greening of normative acts regulating the economic, economic and administrative activities of enterprises is widely used. Under greening understand the introduction of environmental requirements into regulatory 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 fields 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 goods be safe for his life. It also gives the authorities the right 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 benefits for reducing emissions, using clean technologies, etc.

The provisions of the legislation in the field of environmental safety are aimed at preserving the environment and natural resources. This approach is due to the prescription of the Constitution that every citizen has the right to a favorable environment for life. The Russian Federation has several laws regulating environmental issues.

The environmental laws of the Russian Federation are aimed at protecting and ensuring the country's natural resources. The provisions of the law do not only apply to the consequences of human life. Prescriptions are established to eliminate man-made and natural disasters, as well as to minimize their damage to the environment.

To regulate the relevant provisions in Russia, a number of legal acts are in force. adopted July 19, 1995. The purpose of the document is to ensure the constitutional right of citizens to a favorable environment and the prevention of negative impacts. Federal Law 174 addresses the following issues:

• powers of the President of the Russian Federation, federal and regional bodies authorities;
• carrying out the state ecological expertise;
• citizens' rights and public organizations, as well as customers of documentation for the ongoing examination;
• financial support, international treaties;
• responsibility for violations of the law, as well as the procedure for resolving disputes.

Federal Law "On production and consumption waste" 89 FZ adopted on May 22, 1998. It regulates the handling and disposal of waste that can harm citizens or the environment. The possibilities of processing and reuse are taken into account. The provisions of Federal Law 89 regulate the following aspects:

• powers of the Russian Federation, its regions and local authorities self-government;
• general requirements for waste management;
• rationing, state accounting and reporting system;
• economic regulation of the tasks set;
• regulation of actions aimed at handling municipal solid waste;
• the system of state supervision over the execution of orders;
• liability for violations.

Regulates issues aimed at protecting the health of citizens and ensuring an environmentally friendly environment. The document regulates the following legal norms:

• rights and obligations of citizens, individual entrepreneurs and legal entities;
• sanitary and epidemiological requirements for ensuring environmental safety and environmental protection;
• provision of preventive measures;
• state regulation of prescribed actions and organization of state federal supervision;
• responsibility for violation of the prescribed norms.

Federal Law "On the Protection of Atmospheric Air" 96 FZ adopted April 2, 1999 and regulates aspects related to the prevention of air pollution. This is due to the fact that according to Federal Law 96 it is a vital component for the life of humans, plants and animals. Based on this conclusion, legal norms for the protection of atmospheric air are established. They are expressed in the following terms:

• formation of management in the field of atmospheric air protection;
• organization of relevant activities;
• state accounting of sources of harmful effects on the atmosphere;
• ensuring state supervision and economic mechanism of protection and regulation;
• the rights of citizens and legal entities in the field of atmospheric air protection;
• liability for violation of this law;
• international treaties and cooperation of the Russian Federation.

The main environmental law is Federal Law 7 "On Environmental Protection". The document regulates general aspects related to environmental safety. Legal norms of interaction between society and nature, arising in the course of the economic activity of citizens, are prescribed.

Description of the law on ecology

The Federal Law on Environmental Safety of the Russian Federation "On Environmental Protection" was adopted on December 20, 2001. By structure, it consists of several chapters that combine thematic provisions of the legislation on environmental safety. Federal Law 7 contains the following legal norms:

• general provisions, regulating the basic concepts of the law and the legal principles on which it is based, the categories of objects that negatively affect the environmental situation are also taken into account;
• fundamentals of environmental management– the powers of federal, regional and municipal bodies are determined state power, differentiation of rights and management system;
• rights and obligations of citizens, public associations and legal entities prescribed in the context state system measures to ensure environmental safety;
• principles of economic regulation based on a charge for negative impact and determination of persons liable to pay the appropriate fee on a regular basis; a control system is also prescribed and governmental support activities aimed at ensuring environmental safety;
• regulation in the field of environmental protection– standards for permissible actions in violation of the environment are determined;
• environmental impact assessment and the procedure for conducting an environmental review;
• environmental safety requirements when carrying out certain types of economic or other activities;
• procedure for establishing zones of ecological disasters and emergency situations;
• accounting for natural objects which are listed under special protection, their legal regime and measures aimed at their conservation;
• forest park green belts– their creation, placement of information about them, principles of protection;
• state environmental monitoring for the situation, its functioning unified system and an endowment fund;
• state environmental supervision — ensuring production and public control, accounting for objects whose activities adversely affect the environment;
• definition of principles for conducting scientific research ecology;
• foundations for the formation of ecological culture- Measures aimed at educating and enlightening citizens;
• responsibility for breaking the law- its types, the procedure for resolving disputes, compensation for damage and restriction of the activities of the relevant facilities;
• elimination of accumulated environmental damage- identification of such and organization of measures to eliminate it;
• principles of international cooperation Russian Federation on environmental safety issues.

AT final provisions Law 7 FZ includes instructions on its entry into force, as well as bringing other legislative acts into legal compliance. The law came into force on the day of its official publication - January 10, 2002. From this moment it has undergone a number of changes aimed at eliminating inaccurate wording and updating legal norms. The last amendments were made in 2016.

Changes in the law on ecology

Amendments to the environmental law "On Environmental Protection" last time were submitted in 2016. The amendments were introduced by various documents on April 5, June 23 and July 3. The general list is determined by the following changes:

• in articles 1, 19, 29 and 70 after the words " documentation" the words " , federal rules and regulations» in the appropriate cases;
• article 78 of the law on ecology was supplemented with paragraph 2.1 on accounting for the costs of eliminating damage to the environment;
• was added chapter 14.1 on elimination of harm caused to the environment, corresponding amendments were also made to Articles 1, 5.1, 28.1 and 65;
• to the law on ecology introduced chapter 9.1 on forest park green belts, the wording of Article 44 was additionally adjusted, and paragraphs 4-7 were added to Article 68 on the possibility of citizens to provide assistance public services in ensuring environmental safety;
• to paragraph 1 article 50 a paragraph was added on the prohibition of growing plants and animals with genetically engineered material, with the exception of only research work and examination.

In January 2002, a new federal law "On Environmental Protection" came into effect. This law replaced the law of the RSFSR "On the Protection of the Environment", adopted in 1991. During 2004-2008, the law was amended to clarify the powers of the subjects of the Russian Federation and municipalities in the field of environmental protection.

The Law on Environmental Protection consists of 16 chapters:

Chapter I. General provisions.

Chapter II. Fundamentals of management in the field of environmental protection.

Chapter III. Rights and obligations of citizens, public and other non-profit associations in the field of environmental protection.

Chapter IV. Economic regulation in the field of environmental protection.

Chapter V. Rationing in the field of environmental protection.

Chapter VI. Environmental impact assessment and ecological expertise.

Chapter VII. Requirements in the field of environmental protection in the implementation of economic and other activities.

Chapter VIII. Zones of ecological disaster, zones of emergency situations.

Chapter IX. Natural objects under special protection.

Chapter X. State environmental monitoring (state environmental monitoring).

Chapter XI. Control in the field of environmental protection (environmental control).

Chapter XII. Scientific research in the field of environmental protection.

Chapter XIII. Fundamentals of formation of ecological culture.

Chapter XIV. Responsibility for violation of legislation in the field of environmental protection and resolution of disputes in the field of environmental protection.

Chapter XV. The international cooperation in the field of environmental protection.

Chapter XVI. Final provisions.

AT chapter 1 of the federal law, definitions of the main concepts are given, including: in the field of regulation, state environmental monitoring, environmental audit, best existing technology, environmental risk and environmental safety. The main principles of environmental protection are formulated, which allow the impact of economic and other activities on the natural environment, based on compliance with the requirements in the field of environmental protection. At the same time, the reduction of the negative impact of economic and other activities on the environment should be carried out on the basis of the use of the best existing technologies, taking into account economic and social factors. The law establishes the objects of environmental protection from pollution and depletion, degradation, these include:

Lands, bowels, soils;

Surface and ground waters;

Forests and other vegetation, animals and other organisms and their genetic stock;

atmospheric air, the ozone layer of the atmosphere and near-Earth space.

The powers of state authorities of the Russian Federation, constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local governments in the field of relations related to environmental protection are considered in chapter 2. The delimitation of powers in the field of relations related to environmental protection between the state authorities of the Russian Federation and the state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation should be carried out on the basis of Agreements between federal executive authorities and executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, on the transfer of the exercise of part of their powers on environmental protection issues environment.

The rights and obligations of citizens, public and other non-profit associations in the field of environmental protection are considered in chapter 3 law. Every citizen of the Russian Federation has the right to a favorable environment, to its protection from the negative impact caused by economic and other activities, natural and man-made emergencies, to reliable information about the state of the environment and to compensation for damage to the environment. This chapter also defines the rights and obligations of public and other non-profit associations carrying out activities in the field of environmental protection, and the system of state measures to ensure the rights to a favorable environment.

Methods of economic regulation in the field of environmental protection, considered in chapter 4 include:

Holding economic evaluation the impact of economic and other activities on the environment;

Provision of tax and other benefits in the implementation of the best existing technologies, non-traditional types of energy, the use of secondary resources and waste processing, as well as in the implementation of other effective measures on environmental protection in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation;

Establishment of payment for negative impact on the environment;

Support for entrepreneurial, innovative and other activities (including environmental insurance) aimed at protecting the environment.

The law abolished the system of environmental funds that had existed since 1991. The fee for the negative impact on the environment (the fee for environmental pollution) has been retained. It is determined that entrepreneurial activity, carried out for the purpose of environmental protection, is supported by the state through the establishment of tax and other benefits. The mechanism of voluntary environmental insurance, which has been in operation since 1991, has been liquidated.

AT chapter 5 the system of regulation in the field of environmental protection is considered. The law determines that regulation in the field of environmental protection consists in establishing environmental quality standards, standards for permissible environmental impact, as well as state standards and other documents. Rationing is carried out in the manner established by the Government of the Russian Federation.

The Law refers to the environmental quality standards the standards established in accordance with the chemical, physical and biological indicators of the state of the environment.

In order to prevent the negative impact on the environment of economic and other activities, the following standards of permissible environmental impact are established for legal entities and individuals:

Standards for permissible emissions and discharges of substances and microorganisms;

Standards for the generation of production and consumption waste and limits on their disposal;

Standards for permissible removal of components of the natural environment;

Standards for permissible anthropogenic load on the environment.

As one of the elements of the implementation of environmentally sound economic activities, the Law introduces voluntary and mandatory environmental certification.

The federal law "On Environmental Protection" fundamentally changed chapter 6 dedicated to the state ecological expertise. This chapter, as an independent article of the law, includes an environmental impact assessment, which is carried out in relation to the planned economic and other activities that may have a direct or indirect impact on the environment. An environmental impact assessment is carried out during the development of all alternative options pre-project, including pre-investment, and project documentation substantiating the planned economic and other activities, with the participation of public associations.

Chapter 7 is devoted to the issues of environmental protection in the course of economic and other activities and includes the following articles containing requirements in the field of environmental protection in case of:

placement of buildings, structures, structures and other objects;

design of buildings, structures, structures and other objects;

construction and reconstruction of buildings, structures, structures and other objects;

commissioning of buildings, structures, structures and other facilities;

operation and decommissioning of buildings, structures, structures and other facilities;

operation of agricultural facilities;

during land reclamation, placement, design, construction, reconstruction, commissioning and operation of reclamation systems and separately located hydraulic structures;

placement, design, construction, reconstruction, commissioning and operation of energy facilities;

placement, design, construction, reconstruction of urban and rural settlements;

use of radioactive substances and nuclear materials;

production and operation of automobile and other vehicles;

placement, design, construction, reconstruction, commissioning and operation of oil and gas production facilities, facilities for processing, transportation, storage and sale of oil, gas and products of their processing;

use chemical substances in agriculture and forestry;

production, handling and disposal of potentially hazardous chemicals, including radioactive, other substances and microorganisms;

waste management of production and consumption;

establishment of protective and security zones;

privatization and nationalization of property;

placement, design, construction, reconstruction, commissioning, operation and decommissioning of military and defense facilities, weapons and military equipment.

Chapter 8 the procedure for declaring and establishing the regime of ecological disaster zones was considered. Environmental protection in emergency zones is established by the federal law on the protection of the population and territories from natural and man-made emergencies and other regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation.

AT chapter 9 issues of protection of natural objects are considered. For the protection of natural objects that have special environmental, scientific, historical, cultural, aesthetic, recreational, health and other valuable significance, a special legal regime is established, including the creation of specially protected natural areas. Lands within the boundaries of territories on which natural objects of special environmental, scientific, historical, cultural, aesthetic, recreational, health and other valuable significance and are under special protection are located are not subject to privatization.

AT chapter 10 the issues of organizing state environmental monitoring were considered. It is carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation and the legislation of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in order to monitor the state of the environment, including the state of the environment in the areas where sources of anthropogenic impact are located and the impact of these sources on the environment, as well as to meet the needs of the state, legal entities and individuals in reliable information necessary to prevent and (or) reduce the adverse effects of changes in the state of the environment.

Chapter 11 Federal Law "On Environmental Protection" is devoted to environmental control. In the Russian Federation, state, industrial and public control in the field of environmental protection is carried out. State environmental control is carried out by federal executive authorities and executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the list of objects subject to federal state environmental control is determined by the Government of the Russian Federation.

Production environmental control is carried out in order to ensure the implementation of environmental protection measures in the course of economic and other activities, rational use and restoration of natural resources, as well as in order to comply with the requirements in the field of environmental protection established by the legislation in the field of environmental protection. Enterprises are required to provide information on the organization of production environmental control to the relevant executive authority exercising state environmental control. Public environmental control is carried out by public and other non-profit associations in accordance with their charters, as well as by citizens in accordance with the law.

AT chapter 12 the procedure for conducting scientific research in the field of environmental protection, which is carried out by scientific organizations in accordance with the federal law on science and state scientific and technical policy, is considered.

Chapter 13 dedicated to the formation of ecological culture. In order to form an ecological culture and vocational training specialists in the field of environmental protection, the law establishes a system of universal and comprehensive environmental education, including preschool and general education, secondary, vocational and higher professional education, postgraduate professional education, professional retraining and advanced training of specialists, as well as the dissemination of environmental knowledge, including through mass media, museums, libraries, cultural institutions, environmental institutions, sports and tourism organizations. The heads of organizations and specialists responsible for making decisions in the course of economic and other activities that have or may have a negative impact on the environment must be trained in the field of environmental protection and environmental safety.

AT chapter 14 establishes liability for violation of legislation in the field of environmental protection and the procedure for resolving disputes in the field of environmental protection. For violation of the legislation in the field of environmental protection, property, disciplinary, administrative and criminal liability is established in accordance with the legislation.

Thus, economic entities are obliged to fully compensate for environmental damage, including for projects that have positive opinion state ecological expertise. Harm to the environment is compensated in accordance with duly approved rates and methods, and in their absence, based on actual costs, taking into account losses incurred, including lost profits. Claims for compensation for environmental damage caused by violation of environmental laws may be brought within twenty years.

Also, the procedure for restricting, suspending or terminating the activities of legal entities and individuals carried out in violation of the legislation in the field of environmental protection has been changed. If earlier the supervisory authorities could suspend or terminate the activities of economic entities by their instructions, now the requirements for the restriction, suspension or termination of the activities of legal entities and individuals carried out in violation of the legislation in the field of environmental protection must be considered by the court or arbitration court.

AT chapter 15 issues of international cooperation in the field of environmental protection were considered. The Russian Federation carries out international cooperation in the field of environmental protection in accordance with the generally recognized principles and norms of international law and international treaties of the Russian Federation in the field of environmental protection.

Structure and summary Law of the Russian Federation "On the Protection of the Environment"

Section 1. General Provisions.

This section defines the following: the tasks 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 fixed; consequences of accidents, disasters, 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 environment.

Section 3. Economic mechanism of environmental protection.

This section covers the following:

• - tasks of the economic mechanism;
• - the need to maintain cadastres of natural resources;
• - sources of financing of environmental activities;
• - the procedure for issuing a license for integrated nature management;
• - limits on nature management (withdrawal 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 overlimit 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, concessional loans, promotional 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, a list of maximum permissible standards for the impact on the environment.

Section 5. State ecological expertise.

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

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

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

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

The section provides environmental requirements separately:

• - in agriculture;
• - during land reclamation works;
• - to energy 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 ecological emergency - areas of the territory of the Russian Federation where, as a result of economic and other activities, stable negative changes occur in the natural environment that threaten public health, the state of natural ecological systems, animal and plant genetic funds;
• 2. Zones of ecological disaster - territories where there have been profound irreversible changes in the natural environment, resulting in a significant deterioration in the health of the population, disruption of 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 environmental review. In Russia, the following zones are recognized as such: the Kuznetsk coal basin of the Kemerovo region, Nizhny Tagil of the Sverdlovsk region, the city of Bratsk of the 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 natural environment and its change;
• - verification of the implementation 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 refers to the need for universal, comprehensive and continuous environmental education and education, as well as the obligation of environmental knowledge in educational institutions, preventive environmental training of managers and specialists, scientific environmental research.

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

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

Section 13. Liability for environmental offenses.

The section defines environmental offenses (guilty, unlawful acts that violate environmental legislation), 4 types of environmental legal liability are distinguished by the methods of applying sanctions:

• 1. Disciplinary (to individuals) - for non-fulfillment of plans and measures for nature protection and rational use of natural resources, violation of environmental quality standards and requirements of environmental legislation arising from labor function or official position;
• 2. Material (to individuals) - in the form of reimbursement of expenses of an enterprise, institution or organization for the elimination of 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 environmental damage.

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 provides 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 Art. 9, part 1, which states that the 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 relevant territory.

There are two very important norms in the Constitution of the Russian Federation, one of which (Article 42) enshrines the right of a person 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 other natural resources (art. 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 relations between the Federation and the subjects of the Federation. Table. one.

In the subject of its jurisdiction, the Russian Federation adopts federal laws that are mandatory throughout the country. The 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 enshrines the general rule: laws and other legal acts of the subjects of the Federation must not contradict federal laws. The provision of the Constitution of the Russian Federation is specified in the sources of environmental law.

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

Table 1.

Federal level	Regional level
the Russian Federation Federal laws defining legal regulation on the territory of the Russian Federation Presidential decrees, resolutions State Duma, resolutions (orders) of the government of the Russian Federation The system of state standards (gosts) and building codes and rules (snip) System of industry standards (osty, RD, sanpin, MPC, OBuv, etc.) System of interdepartmental and departmental regulatory and methodological documentation International treaties, conventions, agreements and other international legal acts to which the Russian Federation is a party (successor)	Subjects of the Russian Federation Laws of the subjects of the Russian Federation Decrees (orders) of the executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Federation System of regional standards and regulations Bilateral international agreements

Regulating these relations, it aims to solve three problems: the preservation of the natural environment, the prevention and elimination of the harmful effects of economic activity on nature and human health, the improvement and improvement of the quality of the environmental protection system.

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

Secondly, the main direction of the Law is to ensure a scientifically based combination of environmental and economic interests with the priority of protecting health and natural human rights to a favorable environment. The maximum allowable norms of the impact of economic activity on the natural environment serve as such a justification. Exceeding these standards is an environmental offense.

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

Fourthly, 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 also considered as a subject of impact on the natural environment, responsible for their activities, and as the subject of such impact, endowed with guarantees for compensation for the 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 the OPS, as well as the obligation of state environmental expertise, state environmental control, its powers to suspend, limit, terminate the activities of environmentally harmful industries, measures of administrative and criminal liability for environmental offenses, compensation for damage 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 supervisory and control bodies for the OPS, on the material, technical and financial support environmental protection measures, from performing discipline, as well as the state of environmental culture in society.