Administrative Law Mechanism Applied to Ensure Legitimacy in the Sphere of Ecology

Abstract

The author believes that the administrative law framework for ensuring legitimacy in the environmental sphere is the system of administrative law tools through which an efficient protection of environment is ensured. Structurally it consists of administrative law norms, administrative legal relations and acts of administrative law application. Within the framework of the common description of ecology the author considers the issues that characterize operational effectiveness of the evolving regulatory and protective relations. The paper analyses how the legal framework of the Russian Federation in the sphere of ecology is functioning with due regard to the federal structure of the state. The author gives legal characterization to the effective legislation in accordance with a level of state governance in question (federal and regional levels), as well as at the local government level. The paper shows problematic issues and suggests ways to address them. In particular, according to the author, one of the issues that have a significant impact on the level of legitimacy in the environmental sphere is a drawback inherent for the Russian legislation in general - namely, implementation of a law enforcement process based on a wide range of regulations that often do not have the necessary systematic character and logical completeness. Conclusions and proposals are based on certain examples and analysis of statistical data. The author makes a reasoned conclusion that stability and quality of fixing social relations in laws directly influence the level of legitimacy in the sphere of ecology. In addition, frequent changes in modern Russian legislation and uncertainty in the regulation of social relations stemming from instability results in unreasonably frequent changes in the content and limits of the proper conduct of actors participating in emerging legal relations.