Environmental crimes in a transnational context
Topical issues of international environmental disputes as a risk of threat to the world legal order
Giorgi Matiashvili
Ketevan Berestova-Gadilia
Naili Pkhikidze

© Giorgi Matiashvili, 2022

© Ketevan Berestova-Gadilia, 2022

© Naili Pkhikidze, 2022

ISBN 978-5-0056-2040-8

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

GIORGI MATIASHVILI

MBA BACHELOR EN DROIT INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL LAWYER.Member of an,,International Bar Association,, IBA, a,,World Academy of Science Engineering and Technology,, WASET a,,European society of International Law,, ESILSEDI. Author of а book and scientific articles in international journals. .

Contact information:  mativar199@gmail.com

KETEVAN BERESTOVA-GADILIA

DOCTORAL CANDIDATE OF Ph. D IN LAW.Real member, of TAO-KLARJETI SCIENTIFIC ACADEMY. With 20 years of experience working in private and public structures. Author of a book and scientific articles in top international journals.Contact information:qetevanberestova@gmail.com

NAILI PKHIKIDZE

Ph.D.in Law, Real member, ACADEMICIAN of,, FAZISI ACADEMY,, With 27 years of experience working in private and public structures. Author of books and scientific articles in international journals.

Contact information: nai0202@mail.ru

Translation made: ZHANA TCHOLARIA. Master of Education (M. Ed). E-mail:getranslator1@gmail.com

*Abstract

” -Leonardo DiCaprio ,,As we progress into the twenty-first century, anyone who considers themselves a realist will have to make the environment a top priority.

Extreme heat wave, severe forest fires, floods and other types of natural disasters around the world confirmed undoubtedly, that this is a climatic disruption, which turned out into a large-scale extreme situation for our entire planet.

,, God finds the quilty’”, as Homer said, and we entered in to the period of consequences. Governments simply observed, how the disasters spread out, striving forward to new pipe system and annual trillions in subsidies of fossil fuel. Correspondingly, against the background of commercial interests and striving for material wealth, they forgot and put under question tomorrow’s existence of their own habitat.

At the end of the 60s of the twentieth century, the United Nations Organization drew the attention of the world community to the rampant pollution of the environment and the exhaustibility of natural resources as one of the global problems of our time. Overgrowth of technological progress has changed the rules of the game of survival.

The emergence of international environmental law as a separate legal regime was a very important event in the late 1920s.

Environmental law represents the distinctive sub-discipline of public international law. The international community had been alarmed by environmental damage and technological disasters, which had tendencies to become more and more destructive. However, international environmental law has achieved considerable progressive growth and continues to adapt to the corresponding changes in the echo of the results of technological progress, but the state of the world’s environment continues to deteriorate.

The world community acknowledged, that the actual and potential consequences of the degradation of ambient environment are becoming such a serious, that the humankind and order of nature are under threat of extinction and therefore, it is necessary to pay more attention to prevention of the damage of ambient environment. In this regard, the use of international criminal justice to protect the ambient environment has become urgent. The consequences of some ecological disasters are perceived far beyond national borders, this is why, more stringent measures are needed to stop the repetition of events. The goal of our century is to turn back the tide of this process by making sure, that the governments are fully performing their obligations and gradually undertaking more stringent responsibilities in order to preserve the ambient environment.

This thesis, which is analyzing the spectrum of judicial bodies that deal with solving of environmental disputes, proposes a re-evaluation of their topicality in modern conditions. We think this thesis is especially topical in an epoch, when the issues of ambient environment are increasingly becoming the subject of consideration of international jurisdictions, and will represent the interest to those interested in this area of vital importance.

This thesis studies the international environmental crisis of the modern world and we tried to substantiate the necessity for international cooperation between states in the environmental field.

In our opinion, the development of international environmental cooperation should follow the road leading to the creation of a single international legal environmental law, one international environmental organization, and also one international environmental court.

International environmental law represents a very specific branch of international law, therefore, the judges should be experts in the field not only of ecology, but also specialists in the aerobatics of legal science – International law.

Both the state and international governmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as natural persons should have the right to access to international environmental justice without restriction.

Within the framework of international law, the fulfillment of the obligations undertaken by all states serves as a guarantor of the stability of the ecosystem of the world and the peaceful coexistence of states with different socio-political systems. In the modern world, primary importance is given to the issues of compliance by all subjects of international law of international obligations, related to compliance with the terms of the 1975 Helsinki Agreement. The obligations include: protection of ambient environment, prohibition and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, prohibition of the elaboration, production, transportation, proliferation and use of chemical and biological weapons, etc.

According to Article 2 of the Resolution of UN General Assembly “On the responsibility of states for internationally wrongful acts,” to the elements of an internationally wrongful acts of a state refer to violations of an international legal obligation of that state. And according to the article 12 of the abovementioned resolution “There is a breach of an international obligation by a state when an act of that state is not in conformity with what is required of it by that obligation, regardless of its origin or character. Part II of the abovementioned resolution discloses the content of the international responsibility of states. It considers general principles (chapter I) and forms of indemnification (chapter II) by a State for its internationally wrongful act. Violation of the undertaken obligations within the international and interstate treaties, firstly, creates a threat to the existing system for the implementation of international agreements, and, secondly, generates the legal responsibility for failure to fulfill the obligations undertaken under the treaty.

The principle of fulfillment in good faith of obligations these days represents the main core of the existence of the structure of international law as a source of legal force of this law and interstate relations, since without fulfilling obligations incompliance with the international law, a civilized relationship between subjects of international law to achieve the goals provided for by the UN Charter is impossible. The importance of this principle is indicated in the preamble of the UN Charter, which indicates “The respect for obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law,” and in part 2 of article 2 of the UN Charter, which states that “All Members of the United Nations Organization shall fulfill in good faith the obligations undertaken by them in accordance with the present charter, in order to ensure to all of them collect of rights and advantages arising from belonging to the membership of the Organization. Hereinafter, the principle of fulfillment in good faith of obligations according to international law received reinforcement in individual international norms, in particular: in the statutes of International Court of Justice of United Nations organization (Article 38); Declarations on the principles of international law. These are generalized norms that reflect the characteristic features and the main content of international law, having supreme legal force.

The underlying principles of international law are fixed in the UN Charter; Declaration on the principles of international law concerning friendly relations and cooperation between states in accordance with the 1970 UN Charter; In the final act CSCE 1975y.

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the world’s largest regional security organization is engaged in security issues. It unites 57 countries located in North America, Europe and Central Asia.

The former name is Conference for Security and Cooperation (CSCE) in Europe. It was convened as a standing international forum of representatives of all European states (except Albania and Andorra), as well as the United States and Canada, to develop measures to reduce military confrontation and strengthen security in Europe. The meeting was held in three stages.

July 3 – 7, 1973 – Helsinki – Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs;

September 18, 1973, July 21, 1975 – Geneva – Introduction of proposals, amendments and agreement on the text of the Final Act;

July 30 – August 1, 1975 in Helsinki-the capital of Finland, the leaders of 35 original member nations signed the final act of the conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Accords).

– Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969 (preamble, articles 26, 31, 46).

Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties emphasizes the important role of international treaties, as “a source of international law and as a means of developing peaceful cooperation between nations, regardless of their differences in their state and social system”, in all fields of cooperation.

Not only abovementioned, but also other principles of international law form the foundation of the law of environmental safety and international security. This provision was specially emphasized by the UN General Assembly. Effective collective measures can only be carried out on the basis of respect for the principles of sovereign equality, non-interference in internal affairs and self-determination.

Respect for human rights and democracy are of paramount significance to prevent a threat to the world. Everyone has the right to life, and the state and the international community as a whole must ensure an international setup, where in this right can be fully realized (Article 3 and 28 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights). From this, the human right to peace is emerging, which is associated with the right to peace of the people and the state. In the Declaration on “the Right of Peoples to Peace”, the ensuring of which is the fundamental obligation of states. And this also obliges them to apply the principles of the peaceful settlement of disputes, both intrastate and international, disputes of a different nature, including environmental disputes.

We hope, that this thesis will help to improve understanding of the relationship between the protection of human rights in accordance with the “European Convention on Human Rights” and the ambient environment.

*Keywords

Ecology, offense, human rights, resources, court, international, environment, environmental crimes, international law, human, hostile use, planet, environmental security, ecological environment (ecosystem), declaration, ecocide, international treaties, eco-terrorism, United Nations (UN), obligations, legal order, peace, law, justice, cooperation, state, damage, international legal responsibility.

*Preface/annotation

Human Being is part of nature. Outside of nature, without using its resources, he/she cannot exist. Nature will always be the basis and source of human life. In relation to a person, it performs a number of functions related to the satisfaction of his/her needs: ecological, economic, aesthetic, recreational, scientific, cultural and so on.

Ensuring a favorable quality of ambient environment and the organization of rational management of natural resources represents one of the most urgent problems of the entire world community. The awareness of the onset of the global environmental crisis by the authorities of most states of the world in the middle of the 20th century led to the formation of international cooperation in the field of ambient environment protection and a dynamic change in intrastate environmental legislation in most countries of the world. Despite the absence of a general framework agreement, the ambient environment is protected by international law. Various international treaties regulate specific environmental issues, such as for example climate change or biodiversity.

These treaties and ordinary international law assign various legal obligations to protect the ambient environment. This function is assigned to states, such as the obligation to inform, cooperate or limit wash-outs.

The proclamation of the human right onto a favorable ambient environment in the declaration of principles, adopted at the UN Stockholm Conference on the ambient environment in 1972, led to implementation (The English word-implementation is officially translated by the UN as “Effectuation”). The term was first used by the Human Rights Committee in 1981.

The original meaning of the word “implement” is to actualize something in life. it is the practical implementation within the state of international legal norms in order to fulfill the obligations assumed. With regard to the law, implementation is the actualization at the intrastate level of obligations envisaged in international agreements\international environmental norms and standards in the legislation of the countries of the world.

This was the impetus for the formation of environmental legal awareness among the population, the growth of the public environmental movement and the formation of judicial practice in cases of protecting the rights and legitimate interests of citizens in the field of environmental protection. All measures aimed at overcoming the crisis in the environmental field require the need for cooperation between states in the form of C-Global – a global dialogue format, and only through the joint efforts of all states, it is possible to fight against the environmental crisis. The most important issue of the new paradigm of sustainable development should be the reassessment of the environmental factor. Preservation and reproduction of the ambient environment should become an obligatory condition for the sustainable development of civilization. The representatives of the sciences society of international law not infrequently drew attention to the need to strengthen the international legal basis for environmental cooperation and create truly effective international control mechanisms in this field.

In our opinion, the development of international environmental cooperation should follow the principle of creating a single international legal environmental act, of one international environmental organization, and of one international environmental court.

&1 International law as the basis of the international legal order

The representations on peaceful existence has been evolved from the ideas about the artificiality of peace and the naturalness of hostility and war to humanity and the individual to the axiomatic concepts extoling universal peace on the planet as the only means to avoid nuclear and environmental catastrophe. Globalization can contribute to the awareness of the fragility of the entire human civilization and the uniqueness of its constituent socio-cultural formations. In our opinion, in order to achieve peace on the planet, it is necessary to abandon attempts to unify it by force. All the richness of the nature of planet Earth and human culture cannot be simplified and unified within the framework of one geopolitical, economic and cultural paradigm. It is this kind of aggressive attempts that can lead to the complete destruction of humankind and ecological environment of his habitat. In recent decades, the problem of preserving the whole world and ecosystem (ecological system) on our planet are becoming more and more relevant, overwhelmed by various political, social and geopolitical contradictions and side effects of scientific and technological progress.

One can rightfully speak of the 21st century as an era of exacerbation of civilizational conflicts and confrontation of civilizations at a new qualitative level.

International law, its principles and basic norms help to resolve the problem, which determine its nature and create support for its other norms and institutions, contributing to the stability of international relations. They represent the foundation of the international law and order. Violation of the basic principles of international law affects the rights and interests of most other members of the international community. International law is a system of legal principles and norms governing relations between states. International organizations can also act as subjects of international law. Sources of international law are international treaties and custom recognized by states. As there is no supranational authority over sovereign states, the international law is the law between states, not over them.

Which law is more important: International or National, the answer to this question depends on the legal traditions of a particular country. Most legal theorists believe that globalization processes will only become aggravated in the future. Problems that require joint efforts, such as transnational crime, ecological and technogenic safety; prevention of armed conflicts; protection of human rights will come to the fore. This will lead to the prevalence of international norms of law over national ones. Already, many countries have fixed in the basic laws the provision for such a priority. International law in most of its norms, which are recognized by all states of the world, is universal. In the part recognized not by all, but by most countries of the world, it is called general. The norms of international law established by the countries of one region create regional international law. The norms established by states in any field, for example, in energy, or in the field of production and marketing of oil, in navigation or air traffic, are called sectoral.

The norms establishing the rights and obligations between the two states are contained in numerous bilateral treaties.

At present, the central part of international law is the UN Charter, which contains the basic principles of modern international relations, obligatory for execution by all countries and possessing supremacy in relation to all other norms of international law.

Under the charter of the United Nations Organization, states pledged to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, to fulfill in good faith the obligations assumed under the charter, to observe the principle of sovereign equality of all UN members, to resolve their international disputes by peaceful means in such a way as not to jeopardize the international peace, security and justice, to refrain in their international relations from the threat of force or using the force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other way, commit acts inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations (UN). In addition, the UN Charter approved the principle of non-intervention in matters, essentially included within the domestic jurisdiction of any state (this principle, however, does not affect the application of compulsory measures on the basis of the Charter).

The basic principles of the UN Charter were confirmed and expanded in the declaration on principles of International Law, concerning friendly relations and cooperation among states in accordance with the UN Charter (October 24, 1970), and later in the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, adopted in 1975 in Helsinki.

The declaration on principles of International Law concerning friendly relations and cooperation among states in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations (October 24, 1970) provided that: States shall refrain in their international relations from the threat with force or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations.

States shall resolve their international disputes by peaceful means in such a way as not to endanger international peace, security and justice. States are bound by the Charter not to interfere in matters within the domestic jurisdiction of any state. States are obliged to cooperate with each other in accordance with the UN Charter.

By virtue of the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, envisaged in the charter, all peoples have the right to freely determine their political status and pursue their economic, social and cultural development without outside interference, and every state is obliged to respect this right in accordance with the provisions of the charter. All states enjoy sovereign equality, they have the same rights and obligations and are full-fledged members of international society, regardless of differences of an economic, social, political or other nature. Each state is obliged to fulfill in good faith the obligations assumed by it in accordance with the UN Charter, arising from the generally recognized principles and norms of international law, as well as arising from international treaties valid in accordance with the generally recognized principles and norms of international law. All the above-mentioned principles have been repeatedly confirmed in other declarations and other foundational documents contained in the resolutions of the UN General Assembly. Herewith, it was found that, in interpretation and application, the above-mentioned principles are interrelated and each principle must be considered in the context of all other principles.

The norms of international law define the basic concepts and institutions of international relations, as well as the related rights and obligations of states and international organizations. They contain the definition of the state, its sovereignty, territory, population, and the concept of legal succession of states, their international legal responsibility as a subject of international law. These norms also define the institutions of an international treaty, negotiations, intermediation, international conflicts, peaceful settlement of disputes, representing the methods of implementation of relations between states.

As noted above, there are branches in the system of norms of international law, in which norms related to certain areas of international regulation are grouped.

Diplomatic and consular law regulates the representational relations of states and the rules for servicing citizens and trade and economic organizations abroad.

In the field of international security and disarmament, the norms of international law determine the order and guarantees for the maintenance of international peace.

Maritime law regularizes the regime of maritime spaces and their use.

Law of the air defines the rights and obligations of states in connection with air communication.

Law of outer space determines the probing procedure and exploitation of outer space.

International humanitarian law consolidates and promotes the development of human rights.

A separate branch is made up of norms that determine the order for economic and scientific and technical cooperation between states, international legal protection of the ambient environment, etc.

&2 International law and politics

International law is always inseparably linked with the politics of states. It is a continuation of their policy, fixed for a certain, often very long period, in the form of norms that create a legal obligation for these states to act exactly as they agreed in their agreements.

Throughout the history of international law, it has been based on the principle that the ancient Romans formulated as “pacta sunt servanda” – “treaties must be observed”. In contrast to the situation within the state, where the observance of law is ensured by the state apparatus in international relations, where there is no supranational power, states are forced to take their protection into their own hands when their rights are violated. At the same time, they seek support from other states, interested in maintaining the authority and effectiveness of international law, in order to jointly resort to sanctions or other coercive measures to restore violated rights. Currently, these actions of states are regulated by the UN Charter.

By being closely connected with politics, international law itself was in the past and currently remains a field of acute political struggle between various groups of states for the development and application of its institutions and norms in accordance with their interests.

In the era of Ancient Rome, international law reflected the relations of the hegemony of Ancient Rome and its subordinate peoples that existed at that time, in the Middle Ages it determined the relations of states – suzerains and vassals, and at a later time – the relationship of European monarchies with each other.

In the 20th century, there was a significant democratization of international relations, and, nevertheless, at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, some of the most developed states seek to limit the effect of the sovereignty of other countries, proving that in the era of globalization and economic and technological progress, the borders between countries are erased. Some authorities and groups of NATO states\ (this is a military-political bloc, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the North Atlantic Alliance (Eng. North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO;) – uniting most of the countries of Europe (including Turkey), the United States of America and Canada) \ lay claim to the exclusive right to maintain Western-style order and democracy in various parts of the world. Under the pretext of “humanitarian intervention”, they are ready to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, acting as an international policeman. Often, the “struggle for the right” undergoes along the line of dividing the interests of the countries of the developed North and the developing South. Unfortunately, the attempts of individual states to ignore the norms of international law and sometimes directly violate them, have not gone away, which ultimately has a destructive effect on the ecology of the regions.

&3 The rights and power

The basis for the preservation of the world and the planet’s ecosystem is the international legal system provided for in the UN Charter. The UN Security Council has the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security in all aspects. In carrying out this task, the Security Council acts on behalf of all UN member states. The UN has the right “to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace”. The realism laid down in the UN Charter lies in the fact that the composition of the Security Council, authorized to take such measures, up to forced ones, includes five great powers – permanent members of the council, which, subject to their consent, are able to ensure the fulfillment of the peacekeeping tasks assigned to the UN.

At the same time, the UN has a democratic system of annual discussion of all world problems in the main body – the General Assembly, where all member states participate in the adoption of recommendatory decisions with the right to vote on the basis of the principle of their sovereign equality. This system of UN, although it seems to require constant updating, is on the whole the most advanced stage in the development of modern international law.

In accordance with the principles of the UN Charter, states have developed and put into effect many treaties that determine the current state of international relations. Such important treaties include agreements between Russia (USSR) and the United States on the reduction of strategic armament, the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, treaties on the prohibition of nuclear-weapon tests, agreements on the non-deployment of nuclear weapons in outer space, the Antarctic Treaty, agreements on nuclear-weapon-free zones in various regions of the world, treaties on NATO, the CIS\ (The CIS countries are the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) established in December 1991. The CIS unites: the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan and Ukraine) \,the European Community, agreements on regional integration associations, the OSCE Final Act, Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Relations, Statutes of the UN Specialized Agencies, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Civil and Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982, agreements on the protection of the environment and natural resources and so on.

The listed and many other agreements and declarations, as well as decisions of the UN and its international organizations, customs, recognized as legal norms, and decisions of international judicial bodies, form a general system of international law, within framework of which international relations are carried out today in all spheres of humankind existence.

&4 General provisions and the concept of international law of environmental protection

Surrounding Nature Environment – a complex of natural systems, natural objects and natural resources, including atmospheric air, water, land, subsoil resources, flora and fauna, as well as climate in their interconnection and interaction.

A favorable natural environment – such a state of natural objects that form the environment created by human being, as well as the quality of life and conditions that meets the legally established standards and regulations regarding its cleanliness, resource intensity, ecological sustainability, species diversity and aesthetic richness.

Protection of the natural environment – activities to preserve and restore (if it is violated) a favorable state of the ambient environment, prevent its degradation in the process of social development and maintain ecological balance.

The concept and resources of international environmental law.

International environmental law – a set of international legal principles and norms, regulating international relations regarding the protection of the environment from harmful effects, the rational use of its individual elements in order to ensure optimal conditions for the life and health of individuals, as well as the very existence of mankind as a whole.

Significance of international environmental law

The access to regulating relations of the issues of the international level regarding the environmental protection is conditioned by two main factors: the development of scientific and technological progress, a sharp increase in the human population, which leads to an imbalance in world environmental ties (today, humankind does not possess natural enemies capable of regulating its population).

Principles of international environmental law.

The principles of international legal regulation are generally divided into three groups: General (generally recognized) principles of international law; The principles of international law, having environmentally friendly importance; Special (sectoral) principles of international environmental law.

Special principles, formulated in the Stockholm Declaration of 1972, the World Charter for Nature adopted by the General Assembly on October 28, 1982, the Rio de Janeiro Declaration on Environment and Development of 1992 and other documents. The following basic principles should be highlighted:

1. The principle of rational use of natural resources, which obliges states to manage and use natural resources in such a way as not to damage the integrity of ecological systems, as well as to carry out a series of activities for the reproduction and renewal of natural resources (Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources 1980, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982).

2. The principle of preventing environmental pollution means, that states should not pollute the ambient environment by bringing in various harmful substances into it, which, due to their danger or due to their large amount, exceed the ability of the ambient environment to neutralize and restore themselves. States are obliged by their actions not to transfer damage or hazard from one area to another, directly or indirectly, or to transform one type of pollution into another.

3. The principle of the sovereignty of states over their natural resources means the sovereign right of states to develop their own natural resources in accordance with their policies in the field of nature management, environmental protection and development. But it no longer has an absolute character.

4. The principle of doing no harm to the environment beyond the limits of national jurisdiction designates certain boundaries, but the exercise by the state of sovereignty over natural resources. It entails a requirement for states to ensure that activities carried out under their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the ambient environment of other States or areas. At the same time, even the existence of an armed conflict does not exempt the parties from fulfilling this requirement. If this institution were developed, and there was a sensitive scale for assessing damage to the ambient environment, then this would ensure the implementation of an appropriate environmental policy of each state.

5. The principle of protecting the ambient environment during military conflicts follows directly from the abovementioned. It is most fully formulated in the Convention on the Prohibition of Military or any other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques of 1976.

6. The principle of environmental impact assessment. In recent years, the number of universally recognized principles of international environmental law of a preventive nature has increased, i.e. not related to compensation for harm already inflicted, but aimed at some kind of preventive measures. This principle was laid down in the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context of 1991, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 (Article 206), as well as in numerous regional treaties – the Regional Convention for the Conservation of the Red Sea Region and the Gulf of Aden Environment of 1982, Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region of 1983 and so on.

7. The principle of liability for damage to environmental systems of other states or international spaces.

The subject of international environmental law.

The formation of the branch of international law – the international environmental law was generated on the basis of the principle “Use your own so as not to harm another”. Issues of protection and use of the ambient environment are regulated by national legislation as long as they do not go beyond the territorial boundaries of the state. International environmental law has an independent subject of legal regulation – international environmental relations, which can be divided into three groups:

– Relationships to prevent and limit harmful effects on the state of the ambient environment, which can only be resolved by the efforts of the entire international community (pollution of the World Ocean, air basin, environmental pollution during military conflicts and so on).

– Ensuring the rational use of international natural resources.

– Protection of unique natural objects by their conservation from human economic impact (environmental immunities).

Subjects of international environmental law.

The subjects of international environmental law include: states, international organizations, international non-governmental organizations.

States are the main subject of law. Several classifications of states-subjects of international environmental law have been specified in the scientific literature:

1) States, that are the most environmentally vulnerable and states, that are most environmentally friendly;

2) Developed and developing states, which are characterized not only by a different degree of independence in solving environmental problems, but also by different substantive interests in this area;

3) States, that are affected by the same natural factors due to their geographical location and states that, due to their geographical location, are affected by various natural factors, which influences on the content of the adopted international legal documents.

Despite the difference in the status of states, the implementation of specific legal and regulatory regulation is based on common principles. One of the trends in international environmental law has been the growing importance of international and international non-governmental organizations as subjects of international environmental law.

International environmental law is a relatively young branch of international law, that has emerged from such branches of international law as international maritime, air, space law.

However, these branches regulate relations regarding the exploitation of the elements of nature and are based on other priorities – ensuring the implementation of the rights of sovereign states to use natural resources. The international environmental law is based on the use of natural resources subject to restrictions imposed in the interests of international environmental protection.

Objects of international legal protection of the ambient environment

Objects of international legal protection of the ambient environment are natural objects, about which the subjects of international law have environmental relations. There are two categories of such objects: international legal objects, the impact on which occurs from the territories of individual states, and objects, the impact on which occurs from the international territory or from the territory with a mixed regime. Some objects may belong to both the first and second groups.

The international legal objects, the impact on which occurs from the territories of individual states, include: the atmospheric environment, inland waters, flora and fauna.

The atmospheric environment is the common property of humankind. The main harmful impact on the atmosphere occurs from the territories of individual states by such types of their activities as:

Sulfur emission into the atmosphere, generating acid rains.

Emissions of carbon dioxide facilitating to the growth of the greenhouse effect.

The use and leakage of chemicals that destroy the ozone layer of the Earth.

The leakage of radioactive substances into the atmosphere.

Inland waters are the waters of rivers and lakes, which are located on the territory of individual states, but are objects of international environmental law. Rivers, or rather water streams, which are understood as a system of surface and ground waters forming a single channel, have attracted the attention of the international community for two reasons. First, some rivers flow through the territory of two or more states (international rivers). Secondly, the waters of the rivers somehow end up in international waters. Some lakes are subject to international legal protection in connection with their classification as a world natural heritage (for example, Lake Baikal, Lake Loman). The international community is trying to protect fresh water system of international importance from the following types of pollution:

1. Detergents used in washing and cleaning agents,

2. Contamination with chlorides used in water disinfection,

3. Dumping of oil and oil products.

As an example of the international protection of this object, we can cite the environmental disaster in Romania on January 31, 2000, when, as a result of an accident at the “АУРУЛ” gold mining enterprise in the Carpathians, almost 100,000 cubic meters of water with a high cyanide content fell into the Tisza River, and from it to the Danube. Only in the first two days after the accident in river Tisza, 80% of fish stocks died.

According to experts, it will take at least 10 years to restore the ecological balance of the river Tisza. Hungary has filed a claim in international courts for damages to the environment and public health. Fauna and flora are classified as a mixed object of legal regulation, since they are affected both from the territory of individual states and beyond. International protection concerns: endangering and rare species of flora and fauna, emigratory species of animals, nature in certain regions. There are a number of specific areas of cooperation between states in this field:

1. Protection of plant kingdom: protection of plants, quarantine of plants and their protection from pests and diseases, protection of tropical tissue;

2. Protection of specific animal species: Atlantic seals, Atlantic tunas, polar bears, listed in the Red List of Threatened and rare species of animals;

3. Protection of habitats: wetlands, habitats of migrant birds.

International legal objects, the impact on which occurs from an international territory or from a territory with a mixed regime.

These are space and the World Ocean, which are objects of the common heritage of humankind, the use of nature for military purposes.

The World Ocean – is an ecosystem capable of processing a huge amount of organic substances (in the concept of the “World Ocean”, we mean both the waters of the oceans themselves and the waters of the seas). A sharp increase in the number of discharges of waste products of humankind, their chemical composition, placed in jeopardy the mechanism of self-purification of the World Ocean that had been formed for thousands of years. Environmental law prohibits or restricts releasing into the World Ocean of the following substances:

1) Oil and oil products.

Their long decay period and spread over large surfaces represents particular danger. So, in November 2002, the tanker “Prestige” sank in the coasts of Spain, and more than 500 kilometers of the coast were poisoned with oil. The Prime Minister of Spain stated, that the country faces the largest ecological disaster in its history. The generated oil patches were not liquidated for a long time, causing significant damage to the aquatic biological resources of the Atlantic.

2) Synthetic products

This includes all types of plastic materials, including synthetic ropes, fishing nets, and plastic bags for trash. Their danger is in their exceptional floatability.

3) Poisonous substances

Substances containing organochlorine compounds, quicksilver, cadmium and materials for biological and chemical warfare.

4) Radioactive materials

International environmental law restricts dumping and disposal of radioactive waste material.

Outer space

Outer Space – means the space, located outside the earth atmosphere. The economic use of outer space is still limited by the technical capabilities of humankind. Though, the international community has already faced the problem of protecting the above-mentioned object from the so-called “space rubbish”. Its accumulation in near-Earth orbits (adjacent space) can make it impossible for mankind to go further into outer space. Although, it is impossible to do without the use of nuclear energy in space exploration, international environmental law limits the testing of nuclear weapons in outer space. In this regard, the ecological immunity of some outer space objects has been established.

The ecological immunity of some objects of outer space is withdrawal from economic activity of objects that are the common property of mankind. In relation to space, environmental immunity extends to such a celestial body as the Moon.

Objects of the common heritage of humankind

Objects of the common heritage of humankind are territories that are not under the sovereignty of any state and having environmental immunity. These include: Antarctic and the Moon.

&5 Hostile use of means of environmental impact and intentional environmental pollution

The public danger of ecological crimes lies in the fact that it encroaches on a person through nature, through the destruction or qualitative deterioration of the biological basis of his/her existence. Some European countries have joined to the Convention “On the Protection of the Environment” through the criminal legislation that they have developed in their country.

Ecological crimes are criminal infringements on environmental safety, that is, the safety of the surrounding natural environment as a condition and means of human habitation and living organisms, and, in principle, their survival.

That is, ecological crimes violate the human right to a healthy ambient environment.

The specific object of this group of crimes is public relations for the rational use of natural resources, the preservation of a natural environment favorable for human-beings and other living beings and the provision of environmental law and order and the safety of the population.

The direct objects of the ecological crimes are public relations for the protection and rational use of certain types of natural resources and ensuring the environmental safety of the population.

Based on the direct object, ecological crimes are divided into two types.

1) Ecological crimes are of a general nature. They encroach on nature as a whole. These include:

– Violation of the rules of environmental protection in the course of work;

– Violation of the rules for the handling of environmentally hazardous substances and waste;

– Violation of safety rules when handling microbiological or other biological agents or toxins;

– Violation of veterinary rules and the rules, established for the control of plant diseases and pests;

2) Special ecological crimes that encroach on individual components or components of nature (air, water and so on). These include:

– Water pollution;

– Air pollution;

– Pollution of the marine environment,

– Violation of the legislation on the continental shelf of the country and on the exclusive economic zone of the country;

– Damage to the earth;

– Violation of the rules for the protection and use of subsoil;

– Illegal harvesting of aquatic animals and plants;

– Violation of the rules for the protection of fish stocks;

– Illegal hunting;

– Destruction of populations of organisms specified in the Red List;

– Illegal chopping of wood;

– Destruction or damage to forests;

– Violation of the regime of specially protected natural areas and natural objects;

The subject of these crimes is the ambient environment itself and its most significant components: land, subsoil, forests and plant kingdom in general, wildlife, water, atmospheric air, continental shelf, marine environment, specially protected natural areas and objects.

The specificity of the formulation of environmental criminal law prohibitions is the high level of their blankness. In this regard, in order to specify the content of a particular criminal law norm on ecological crimes, it is necessary to refer to many legislative and other normative acts.

The concretization of some criminal law prohibitions in the countries is carried out with the attraction of international treaties in the field of ecology (for example, in case of pollution of the marine environment – the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter of 1972).

Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law, ETS No. 172 (Strasbourg, 4 November 1998);

In December 2019, the International Criminal Court in the Hague received an application from the Ambassador of Vanuatu in the European Union (EU) / proposing to make the destruction of nature a criminal offence.

&5.1 Eco-terrorism /environmental terrorism

At the beginning of the 21st century, in the structure of political and environmental risks, taking into account global trends- special attention should be paid to such a specific phenomenon, such as ecological terrorism, depicting a huge variety of forms, means and methods of commitment, as well as subjects and objects. Its forms include ecocide, environmental colonialism and others.

Eco-terrorism – it is an act of violence on dangerous objects in the context of ecology. From this point of view, hazardous facilities include all types of power station plants, production of the nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear ammunitions, chemical, petrochemical and oil refining, metallurgical, biotechnical enterprises, storage facilities for their raw materials and products;

oil and gas and ammonia pipelines, as well as military facilities, containing radioactive and toxic substances, their storage facilities and waste deposits.

The main part of such facilities is located in the port-industrial zones of port cities, in large cities and densely populated areas, creating a constant threat of environmental disasters. Eco-terrorism is the intimidation of people through the impact on the ambient environment. Therefore, it is necessary to solve the issue of political and legal control over eco-terrorism.

In modern scientific and publicistic literature, the term eco-terrorism itself (ecoterrorism, ecotage = ecology + sabotage) has two different meanings and is understood as at least two, in our opinion, extremely different phenomena:

– Radical actions of “Greens” and the actions of groups and individuals, fighting for the rights of animals and coming out for the liberation of animals, as well as any “greens” (environmentalists) aimed at deliberately polluting the natural environment, with the aim of causing the enemy an ecological damage and subsequent blackmail in this direction. Apparently, it is the latter interpretation that is more consistent with the content of the concept of “Eco-terrorism”. This variety of terrorism is even more dangerous, than other terrorist crimes, since violent actions are applied to citizens or their property indirectly, through the natural environment, the existence in which will be difficult or impossible for all living things in the future. Ecological terrorism leads, as a rule, to irreversible and difficult to eliminate consequences, which are often of a global nature. Suffice it to recall, that while radioactive contamination, the ambient environment may remain improper for life for many thousands of years.

According to our understanding, eco-terrorism is the deliberate pollution of the natural environment or the corresponding threats aimed at achieving political, religious and ideological goals. Eco-terrorism can have extremely serious consequences both for the individual and for the whole society.

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