Features of the Pre-trial Investigation of Air Pollution

Concern for the regulation of relations between man and nature cannot be only an internal affair of an individual country, especially in matters of atmospheric air and the commission of crimes in this area. Most current environmental problems have a global aspect, which means they can be solved only through international cooperation. In today's reality, the European Union is taking decisive legal and organizational steps towards combating air pollution as a crime against the environment. At the same time, the legal regulation in this area needs to be updated, and the methods of conducting investigative actions need to be generalized, coordinated and involve more experts. The aim of the article was to conduct a comparative analysis of the procedural actions of competent authorities during the pre-trial investigation of air pollution in the territory of EU Member States and identify their typical features. The leading practical methodological tools were methods of observation and comparison. The study revealed the imperfection of the procedural actions of law enforcement agencies in the EU and the low level of crime detection in this area. At the same time, the involvement of experts by law enforcement agencies at the stage of the initial inspection of the scene can help to qualitatively increase the effectiveness of the investigation. As part of the research, it was proposed for the Member States to establish independent institutions in the environmental field at the national level. The reasonability of developing a unified EU Coordination Program for pre-trial investigation of air pollution in the national and transboundary context at the interstate level is substantiated. The gradual implementation of the changes proposed by the author in the territory of the EU member states will be a vector of further research in the long run.