Legal Regime of Environmental Information

General Provisions

The legal regime of environmental information in the Russian Federation represents a system of norms and rules regulating the collection, storage, use, and dissemination of data on the state of the environment. Despite the absence of an exact definition of "environmental information" in domestic legislation, its legal status is formed through the general provisions of the Law on Information, the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection," and international standards, including the Aarhus Convention. Environmental information covers data on the state of the natural environment, the impact of economic activities, and measures for environmental protection. environment and health status of the population.

The Constitution of the Russian Federation enshrines the right of every individual to reliable information on the state of the environment, while federal legislation specifies the forms and procedures for its provision. Citizens, public organizations, and legal entities may obtain information on pollution, natural resources, and measures for their protection, and state authorities are obliged to ensure the comprehensiveness, timeliness, and reliability of such information. The legal regime of environmental information is aimed at protecting citizens' environmental rights and ensuring transparency in state environmental oversight.

Access to environmental information is also regulated by provisions of federal legislation on state secrets and information. Information on the state of the environment shall not be classified, except in cases threatening public safety or state secrets. Violation of these norms, including refusal to provide information or its distortion, entails administrative or criminal liability, which is stipulated in the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses and the Russian Criminal Code.

The liability system for concealing or providing false environmental information includes fines for individuals, officials, and legal entities, as well as imprisonment and prohibition from holding certain positions in particularly serious cases. These measures are aimed at ensuring transparency and accountability of government agencies and organizations responsible for environmental protection and informing the public.

However, as experts note, the real application of criminal liability in the field of environmental information is limited. Practice shows that most violations are handled by administrative authorities, and initiating criminal cases in the environmental sector is an extremely rare occurrence. This underscores the need for further improvement of the legal framework governing environmental information and enhancing public oversight of compliance with environmental rights.

In the current legislation of the Russian Federation, there is no definition of the term "ecological information". However, paragraph 1 of Article 2 of the Federal Law "On Information, Information Technologies and on the Protection of Information" (hereinafter - the Law on Information)¹ provides a general definition of the term "information", which refers to data (messages, information) regardless of their form of presentation.

The definition of the term «environmental information» is not contained in the Information Law, nor does it exist in other normative legal acts. We believe that for clarifying the content of the concept of «environmental information», great importance is attached to the definition proposed in environmental law science. The term «environmental information» is defined in scientific literature. According to G.V. Vyhano娃, environmental information – this is any data (messages, information on the state of the environment and its components, their changes under the influence of negative economic and other activities, sources of such activities, taken measures and others), regardless of their form of presentation, characterizing the state and specific features of the sphere of interaction between society and nature, necessary for environmental protection, rational use of natural resources, ensuring ecological safety, protection of citizens' lives and health, as well as having significance (being significant) for ensuring public, personal, and state ecological interests and needs, implementation and protection of citizens' and legal entities' ecological rights².

The definition of the term «environmental information» is contained in the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters³. This convention is referred to as the Aarhus Convention by place of adoption. According to this Convention, environmental information means any information in written, audiovisual, electronic or any other material form relating to: a) the condition of elements of the environment such as air and atmosphere, water, soil, land, landscape and natural objects, biodiversity and its components including

genetically modified organisms, and the interaction between these elements; b) factors such as substances, energy, noise and radiation, as well as activities or measures, including administrative measures, environmental agreements, policy, legislation, plans and programmes affecting or capable of affecting environmental elements; c) the health and safety of people, living conditions of people, and the condition of cultural objects, buildings and structures to the extent that they are affected or may be affected by the state of environmental elements (part 3 of article 2 of the Aarhus Convention). According to M.V. Ponomarev, based on From this definition, which effectively represents a list of ecologically significant data included in the scope of this concept, it can be concluded that the concept of "ecological information" in terms of its content is significantly broader than the term "information on the state of the environment" used in Russian legislation.⁴ According to Article 42 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, everyone has the right to a favorable environment, reliable information about its condition, and compensation for damage caused to his health or property by environmental violations. The above provision of the Constitution of the Russian Federation is clarified in paragraph 1 of Article 11 of the Federal Law «On Environmental Protection», according to which every citizen has the right to a favorable environment, to its protection from negative impacts caused by economic and other activities, natural and man-made emergencies, and to reliable information about

the state of the environment and compensation for damage to the environment. Among the main principles of environmental protection, the principle of observance of the right of each person to obtain reliable information about the state of the environment is provided (Article 3 of the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection").

Among the powers of the organs of state power of the Russian Federation in the field of relations related to environmental protection, including ensuring the population is provided with reliable information on the state of the environment (Article 5 of the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection"). Whereas among the powers of the organs of state power of the subjects of the Russian Federation in the field of relations related to environmental protection, including participation in ensuring the population is provided with information on the state of the environment within the territory of the subject of the Russian Federation (Article 6 of the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection").

Among citizens' rights in the field of environmental protection is the right to submit requests to federal state authorities, state authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation, local self-government bodies, other organizations, and officials regarding obtaining timely, complete, and reliable information on the condition of the environment in areas where they reside, as well as measures for its protection (paragraph 2 of Article 11 of the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection"). At the same time, public and other non-commercial associations engaged in environmental protection activities, including have the right

to address federal state authorities of the Russian Federation, state authorities of the subjects of the Russian Federation, local self-government bodies, other organizations, and officials for obtaining timely, complete, and accurate information on the condition of the environment, measures to protect it, as well as about circumstances and facts of economic and other activities posing a threat to the environment, life, health, and property of citizens (paragraph 1 of Article 12 of the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection").

According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, everyone has the right freely to seek, obtain, transmit, produce and disseminate information by any lawful means. The list of information constituting state secrets is determined by federal law (Part 4 of Article 29 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation). At the same time, access to information on the state of the environment cannot be restricted (paragraph 2 of Part 4 of Article 8 of the Law on Information). According to Article 7 of the Federal Law of the Russian Federation «On State Secrets»⁵, information shall not be classified as state secrets or subject to secrecy, including: information on emergency incidents and

disasters threatening the safety and health of citizens and their consequences, as well as natural disasters, their official forecasts and consequences; the state of ecology, healthcare, sanitation, agriculture; facts of violations of human rights and freedoms (including environmental ones); facts of law violations by state authorities and their officials (including in the areas of environmental protection and rational use of natural resources).

At the same time, officials who have made decisions to classify the aforementioned information as secret or to include it in carriers of information constituting state secrets bear criminal, administrative, or disciplinary liability depending on the material and moral damage caused to society, the state, and citizens. Citizens have the right to appeal such decisions in court.

For example, Article 5.39 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses (KоАП RF) provides for administrative liability for refusal to provide information. According to this article, an unlawful refusal to provide information to a citizen and (or) organization, provision of which is stipulated by federal laws, delayed provision of such information or provision of manifestly false information, except in cases provided for by Article 7.23.1 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses⁶, entails imposition of an administrative fine on officials in the amount from one thousand to three thousand rubles. Article 8.5 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses (KоАП RF) establishes administrative liability for concealment or distortion of environmental information. According to the provision cited, concealment, intentional distortion or delayed reporting of complete and reliable information on the state of the environment and natural resources, sources of pollution of the environment and natural resources or other harmful effects on the environment and natural resources, radiation conditions, as well as distortion of data on the condition of land, water bodies and other environmental objects by persons obligated to provide such information - shall result in an administrative fine for citizens in the amount from five hundred to one thousand rubles; for officials - from one For individuals - from one thousand to two thousand rubles; for legal entities - from ten thousand to twenty thousand rubles.

Article 140 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for criminal liability for refusal to provide information to a citizen. According to this article, an unlawful refusal by an official to provide documents and materials collected in accordance with established procedures that directly affect the rights and freedoms of a citizen, or providing a citizen with incomplete or deliberately false information, if these actions have caused harm to the rights and legitimate interests of citizens, shall be punished by a fine of up to two hundred thousand rubles or in an amount equal to the offender's salary or other income for a period of eighteen months, or deprivation of the right to hold certain positions

...or engage in a specific activity for a term ranging from two to five years. Article 237 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (UK RF) provides for criminal liability for concealing information about circumstances posing a danger to human life or health. According to this article, concealment or distortion of information regarding events, facts, or phenomena creating a danger to human life or health or to the environment, committed by a person obliged to ensure the population and authorities authorized to take measures to eliminate such danger through the provision of this information - are punishable by a fine of up to 300,000 rubles or in an amount equal to the individual's wages or other income... the income of the offender for a period up to two years, or compulsory labor for a term up to two years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term up to three years or without such deprivation, or imprisonment for a term up to two years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term up to three years or without such deprivation. The same acts if committed by a person holding a federal government position of the Russian Federation or a government position of a subject of the Russian Federation, or by the head of a local self-government body, or if such acts have caused harm if serious harm has been caused to a person's health or other severe consequences have occurred, they shall be punished by a fine of between one hundred thousand and five hundred thousand rubles, or in an amount equal to the convicted person's salary or other income for a period of one to three years, or compulsory labor for a term up to five years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term up to three years or without such deprivation, or deprivation of liberty for a term up to five years with deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term up to three years or without such deprivation.

At the same time, according to S.A. Bogolyubov, it is not possible to rely on Article 140 «Refusal to Provide Information to a Citizen» and Article 237 of the Russian Criminal Code «Concealment of Information Regarding Circumstances Creating a Danger to Life or Health» due to modern society's indifference to such phenomena, the practical absence of such criminal cases, and the difficulty in initiating them in the field of ecology being even greater than for administrative cases⁷.

Violation by organizations and individual entrepreneurs engaged in activities related to the management of multi-apartment buildings under management contracts, of the established information disclosure standards, methods, or terms of information disclosure, or disclosure of information in an incomplete volume, or provision of unreliable information - entails imposition of an administrative fine on officials in the amount from thirty thousand to fifty thousand rubles; on legal entities and individual entrepreneurs - from two hundred fifty thousand to three hundred thousand rubles.

Committing an administrative offense stipulated by paragraph 1 of this article by a person who has previously been subjected to administrative punishment for a similar administrative offense - entails disqualification for a period of one to three years." (Article 7.23.1 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses).