Differntiation between Rational and Sustainable Use of Natural Resources in Land Law

Abstract

The rational use of natural resources in land law is understood as the increase in the ecological efficiency of the use of natural resources, including the quality improvement. the paper identifies the types of public relations concerning the rational use of natural resources in land law: 1) improvement of the state of the natural environment and the ecological situation in general; 2) improvement of the quality of land as a separate natural resource and a natural object; 3) land reclamation; 4) land restoration; 5) additional reproduction of land fertility; 6) other relationships aimed at improving the sustainability of environmental systems of which land is a part. On the example of Part 2 Art. 8.7 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, Para. 2 of Art. 45, Para. 2 of Art. 46 and Para. 1 of Art. 47 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation the paper shows the significance of differentiation between rational and sustainable use of natural resources in land law for law enforcement. The proposed differntiation leads to overcoming legal uncertainty when bringing to administrative responsibility and forced termination of rights to land plots for failure to fulfill mandatory measures for the land improvement. The author substantiates the supression from the objective side of the administrative offense provided by Part 2 of Art. 8.7 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, of the failure to act on mandatory improvement of lands. The reasons for the proposed change of the rule include: 1) the absence in law enforcement practice of the facts of bringing to administrative responsibility under Part 2 Art. 8.7 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation for failure to comply with mandatory measures to improve lands; 2) recognition by courts in most cases of the design of part 2 of Art. 8.7 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation as a formally defined crime; 3) the study of Part 2 Article 8.7 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation in the science of Land Law exclusively in the context of the failure to implement mandatory measures to protect land and soil; 4) only social relations in the field of preservation and protection of land against negative impact can be the object of an administrative violation.