Peculiarities of Legal Regulation of Relations in the Field of Environmental Protection

Abstract

The article analyzes the current environmental legislation of the Russian Federation, as well as changes introduced since January 1, 2015. Federal Law of July 21, 2014 No. 219-FZ "On Amendments to the Federal Law 'On Environmental Protection' and certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation". Legal relations being developed in the environmental field are distinguished by complexity and diversity. The author notes that modern legislation in the field of environmental protection is characterized by a significant number of imperfections (gaps, conflicts), declarative, reference, duplicate norms, incomplete legal definitions and insufficient regulation of the mechanisms for implementing legal regulations. By virtue of Art. 3 of the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection" one of the most important principles of environmental activities is the principle of respecting the right of everyone to receive reliable information about the state of the environment, as well as the participation of citizens in making decisions regarding their rights to a favorable environment. However, the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection" itself lacks specific legal mechanisms for the implementation of this principle, as well as the definition of the concept of "environmental information". According to the author, securing the definition of "environmental information" and revealing its content in the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection", the legislator will not only fill a significant gap in the legal regulation of this sphere of public relations, but also make a significant step in the implementation of citizens' constitutional rights to environmental awareness.