Today, one of the most pressing problems requiring urgent solution is the preservation of the ecological safety of the world. Environmental offenses, technological progress, an increase in anthropogenic impacts lead not only to depletion of resources. The health of people (moral and physical) is deteriorating, aesthetic values are being lost, the struggle for living spaces is escalating.
In Russia, environmental pollution is at the maximum permissible level. According to statistical estimates, the average age of the population is declining annually. Every tenth newborn suffers from mental or physical deformities that occur at the gene level. In all industrial areas, nearly a third of the population suffers from immune and autoimmune diseases associated with poor living conditions.
In connection with this situation, the environmental and legal responsibility of citizens and legal entities comes first. This term refers to real property liability for environmental pollution, harm to health, wasteful use, destruction or damage to natural resources, destruction of ecosystems.
The Russian code of laws contains an extremely clear interpretation of the concept of "environmental offenses." This is the name of any illegal activity that violates environmental laws that cause harm or loss to the environment, health, environmental interests or the rights of citizens or legal entities. persons.
Establishing responsibility for the violation of the ecological balance, different legal acts use different terms, referring to "environmental offenses." For example, the Law on Environmental Protection speaks of compensation for damage caused by unlawful environmental actions. The Constitution establishes the right to compensation for damage resulting from such activities.
The constituent parts of the term “environmental violations” are:
• environmental degradation resulting from illegal environmental activities;
• diminution of legal, tangible or intangible benefits, incl. property of citizens, their health;
• pollution, spoilage, destruction or irrational, misuse of resources;
• lack of benefits that could be obtained. This component is especially important for farmers, who often can not harvest the planned crop due to the deterioration of the ecological condition of the soil, water, air.
Recently, Russian legislation has introduced the concept of non- pecuniary damage for environmental violations. It may consist in moral unrest due to the inability to continue the usual way of life, job loss, or manifest as a sensation of physical pain due to a disease resulting from a violation of the environment. Such claims are now being considered in the context of violations of the right to a healthy environment.
In order to streamline the liability of persons for environmental violations, the legislation of the Russian Federation introduces the concept of "subjects of environmental law." They are understood to mean all persons (individuals and legal entities) involved in environmental relations. Legislation establishes their rights and obligations.
There is also the concept of "objects of environmental law." These include subsoil, soil, air, atmosphere, water, vegetation, wildlife.
The law provides that the concept of "objects of environmental law" also applies to nature reserves, natural monuments, parks, conservation zones, wildlife reserves, etc.
Features of environmental legal relations, and, consequently, the definition of the term “environmental offenses” depend on the natural object in relation to which they appear.