Environmental Crimes in Russia: Problems of Qualification

Introduction. At present, legal definition of the “environmental crime” is missing both in the Environmental and Criminal Laws of the Russian Federation, which, in turn, contributes to the non-uniformity of sentences passed within criminal cases of the category under study. Despite the comprehensive regulation of the social relations in this field and an active role of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in legal enforcement, there still remains ambiguity in practical application, which explains the relevance of the present study. There are problems in determining the damage caused by environmental crimes due to the evaluative nature of the categories used in legislation. There are also difficulties in establishing a causation between the action and its socially dangerous consequences due to the possibility of negative environmental impacts to have the so-called “deferred consequences”. The study aims to investigate the problems existing in Russia with regard to qualification of crimes against nature and to substantiate the need for providing a clear definition of the concepts of the “subject” and “object” of the environmental crimes.
Materials and Methods. The study was conducted using both general scientific methods (analysis and synthesis, dialectical method) and specific legal methods, including dogmatic-logical, historical-legal, and synergetic methods. Law enforcement practices were studied and generalized, and statistical data were analysed.
Results. The need for a clear definition of the concepts of the “subject” and “object” of the environmental crime in the Russian law has been substantiated. The concept of the “environmental crime” has been formulated based on the analysis of viewpoints of the scholars conducting research in this field. The possibility of classifying environmental crimes by the subject and object of the crime has been substantiated. The difficulties in distinguishing between the criminally punitive negative impacts on the environment and administrative offenses of this type have been revealed. The evaluative nature of socially dangerous consequences and problems in establishing a causation between the harm caused and the ensuing consequences have been acknowledged.
Discussion and Conclusion. Currently existing in Russia court practices in the field of environmental crimes clearly demonstrate deep systemic problems in qualification of offenses. The situation gets much complicated due to the active application in legislation of the evaluative categories, which lack strict quantitative parameters in description of the socially dangerous consequences. Such an approach inevitably entails non-uniformity in the practice of criminal prosecution, making it extremely controversial even within the cases with similar circumstances. Furthermore, efficient administration of justice is hindered significantly due to the difficulties in establishing a direct causation between the committed action and the resulting outcome. The present study is valuable for further research and for improvement of the legislation and law enforcement in the Russian Federation.

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