Socially Dangerous Consequences of Crimes Related to Environmental Pollution: System Analysis

As a result of comprehensive analysis of the content of socially dangerous consequences provided for in article 246, 247, 250-252, 254 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the authors reveal the absence of a unified approach to the interpretation of individual effects, consistency in the interpretation of certain terms. It is concluded that the two-stage system of socially dangerous consequences formed in the majority of these crimes significantly complicates law enforcement activities. It is revealed that one of the most successfully used components of these environmental crimes is part 1 of article 247 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, formulated as a part of a real danger. An accurate description of the legal structures used in the construction of these elements of a crime will allow you to define de lege lata qualification limits, distinguish them from each other and distinguish them from related elements of administrative offenses. The authors clear up the content of such socially dangerous consequences as: essential change of radioactive background, the infliction of harm to human health, mass death of animals, damage to human health, significant harm to human health or the environment, pollution, poisoning or contamination of the environment, human death, mass diseases of people, the spread of epidemics or epizootics, causing essential harm to animal or flora, fish stocks, forestry or agriculture, pollution or other change of natural properties of air, other serious consequences. De lege ferenda’s proposals include a unified system of socially dangerous consequences that could be used universally in the crimes under consideration. The following socially dangerous consequences are proposed. The first part: creating a real threat of causing significant harm to human health, the environment, animal or plant life, fish stocks, forestry or agriculture. The second part: causing harm to human health, significant harm to human health, the environment, animal or plant life, fish stocks, forestry or agriculture. The third part: causing the death of a person by negligence. The forth part: causing death by negligence to two or more persons.

1. Dubovik OL. Uchebno-prakticheskiy commentariy k Ugolovnomu kodeksu Rossiyskoy Federatsii [Study and Practical Commentary to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation]. Zhalinskiy AE, editor. Moscow; 2006. (In Russ.).

2. Zhalinskiy EN. Osobennaya chast Ugolovnogo kodeksa Rossiyskoy Federatsii. Kommentariy. Sudebnaya praktika. Statistika [Special part of the Criminal code of the Russian Federation. Commentary. Court practice. Statistics]. Lebedev VM, Galakhova AV, editors. Moscow; 2009. (In Russ.).

3. Barysheva KA, Gracheva YuV, Esakov GA, et al., editors. Kommentariy k Ugolovnomu kodeksu Rossiyskoy Federatsii (postateynyy) [Commentary to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (article-by-article)]. 7th ed., rev. and suppl. Moscow: Prospekt; 2017.

4. Aguzarov TK, Ashin AA, Golovnenkov PV, et al. Kommentariy k Ugolovnomu kodeksu Rossiyskoy Federatsii (postateynyy) [Commentary to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (article-by-article)]. Chuchaev AI, editor. Moscow: Kontrakt; 2013. (In Russ.).

5. Naumov AV, editor. Kommentariy k Ugolovnomu kodeksu Rossiyskoy Federatsii [Commentary to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation]. Moscow; 1996.

6. Tomin VT, Sverchkova VV, editors. Kommentariy k Ugolovnomu kodeksu Rossiyskoy Federatsii [Commentary to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation]. Moscow; 2010. (In Russ.).

7. Brilliantov AV. Galakhova AV, Davydov VA, et al. Kommentariy k Ugolovnomu kodeksu Rossiyskoy Federatsii: v 4 t. (postateynyy) [Commentary to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: In 4 vols. (article-by-article)]. Vol. 3: Lebedev VM, editor. Moscow: Yurayt; 2017. (In Russ.). Osobennaya chast [Special part]. Section IX.

8. Chuchaev AI, editor. Kommentariy k Ugolovnomu kodeksu Rossiyskoy Federatsii (postateynyy) [Commentary to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (article-by-article)]. Moscow: Infra-M, Kontrakt, 2010. (In Russ.).