Federal legislation as a source of environmental law

General Provisions

Federal legislation is the foundational source of environmental law in Russia.

It includes nature conservation and natural resource laws regulating social relations arising in relation to the protection of the environment, rational use of natural resources, protection of unique ecosystems, control over waste and public safety.

An important part of federal legislation are ecologized norms of other areas of law, including provisions of the Administrative and Criminal Codes, ensuring liability for environmental violations.

Alongside laws, sources of environmental law include Presidential Decrees and Government Resolutions of the Russian Federation, establishing strategic and organizational measures for nature protection, environmental monitoring, and management of natural resources.

Departmental normative acts of federal executive authorities supplement the system of environmental regulation, establishing specific procedures and standards, thereby ensuring a comprehensive and effective approach to environmental protection and rational use of natural resources throughout the country.

As noted by S.A. Bogolyubov, environmental law consists of environmental protection law, natural resource law, and ecological norms from other legal fields¹.

Federal Environmental Protection Laws

Among environmental protection federal laws, the following can be highlighted:

• Federal Law "On Environmental Protection";

• Federal Law "On Atmospheric Air Protection";

• Federal Law "On Environmental Expertise";

• Federal Law "On Protected Natural Territories";

• Federal Law "On Natural Healing Resources, Health and Recreational Areas and Resorts"²;

• Federal Law dated June 24, 1998 No. 89-FZ "On Waste from Production and Consumption"³;

• Federal Law dated May 2, 1997 No. 76-FZ "On the Elimination of Chemical Weapons"⁴;

• Federal Law dated March 30, 1999 No. 52-FZ "O ### Federal Laws on Natural Resources

  Among the natural resource federal laws can be noted:

  • ZK RF;
  • Water Code of the Russian Federation dated June 3, 2006 No. 74-FZ;
  • LK RF;
  • Law of the Russian Federation «On Subsoil»;
  • Federal Law «On Wildlife»;
  • Federal Law dated December 20, 2004 No. 166-FZ «On Fishing and the Conservation of Aquatic Biological Resources»;
  • Federal Law dated November 30, 1995 No. 187-FZ «On the Continental Shelf of the Russian Federation»;
  • Federal Law dated December 17, 1998 No. 191-FZ «On the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Russian Federation»⁵.

  Ecologized Norms of Other Areas of Law

  Among ecologized norms of other areas of law can be noted:

  • ecologized norms of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses (Chapter 8 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses provides liability for offenses in the field of environmental protection and natural resource use);
  • ecologized norms of the Russian Criminal Code (Chapter 26 of the Russian Criminal Code provides criminal liability for environmental crimes).

  Decrees of the President of the Russian Federation

  Among decree of the President of the Russian Federation, which are sources of environmental law can be referred to:

  • Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 04.06.2008 No. 889 «On Certain Measures to Enhance Energy and Ecological Efficiency of the Russian Economy»⁶;
  • Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 20.04.1995 No. 389 «On Additional Measures to Strengthen Control Over Compliance with Ecological Safety Requirements in the Processing of Spent Nuclear Fuel»⁷;
  • Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated 04.02.1994 No. 236 «On the State Strategy of the Russian Federation for Environmental Protection and Ensuring Sustainable Development»⁸.

  Resolutions of the Government of the Russian Federation

  Among the resolutions of the Government of the Russian Federation, which are sources of environmental law it is possible to note:

  • Government Decree of the Russian Federation dated 09.08.2013 No. 681 «On State Environmental Monitoring (State Monitoring of the Environment) and the State Data Fund of State Environmental Monitoring (State Monitoring of the Environment)»⁹;
  • Government Decree of the Russian Federation dated 14.02.2000 No. 128 «On Approval of the Regulations on Providing Information on the State of the Natural Environment, Its Pollution and Technogenic Emergency Situations That Have Had, Are Having, or May Have a Negative Impact on the Natural Environment»

  Wednesday”¹⁰;

• Government Decree of the Russian Federation dated December 21, 1999 No. 1410 “On the creation and maintenance of the Unified State Fund of data on the state of the surrounding natural environment, its pollution”¹¹.

Departmental Normative Legal Acts

Normative legal acts are issued by federal executive authorities in the form of decrees, orders, directives, rules, instructions, and regulations. Issuance of normative legal acts in the form of letters or telegrams is prohibited (paragraph 2 of the Rules for Preparation of Normative Legal Acts of Federal Executive Authorities and Their State Registration¹²).

Among departmental normative legal acts, which are sources of environmental law, it is possible to note:

• Order of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation dated 12.05.2014 No. 205 «On Approval of the Procedure for Determining the Budget of Expenses for Conducting State Environmental Expertise»¹³;
• Order of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation dated 24.03.2009 No. 70 «On Creation of a Unified Information and Analytical System for Environmental Data and the Project Management and Control Subsystem of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation»¹⁴;
• Order of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation dated 05.03.2010 No. 63 «On Approval of Standards for Maximum Permissible Impacts on the Unique Ecological System of Lake Baikal and the List of Harmful Substances, Including Substances Belonging to Categories "especially dangerous, highly dangerous, dangerous, and moderately dangerous for the unique ecological system of Lake Baikal"[](#_ftn16

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