Current problems of combating environmental crime in Ukraine

The publication is dedicated to the scientific analysis of the problems of identifying and qualifying criminal offenses against the environment in order to develop appropriate countermeasures at the national and international legal levels. It is noted that an important step towards preserving the environment, ensuring the safety of life and health of people and other living organisms is the development of effective mechanisms for prosecuting criminal offenses against the environment, in particular the expansion of international responsibility for environmental damage, as well as the establishment of cooperation in the prosecution of criminals. It was established that crimes related to environmental pollution and depletion of ecosystems, etc., remain outside the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. It is noted that in the practice of the said court and criminal tribunals, there are no court decisions related to damage to the environment. The expediency of revising the provisions of international legislation and the relevant directive on environmental crimes, creating the operation of the International Registry of Damages was emphasized. In the opinion of the author, the introduction of appropriate changes to international legislation will allow to create a comprehensive system of measures to combat environmental crime, to ensure the unification of national legislative systems in terms of terminology, composition of crimes, as well as sanctions applied for their commission in the conditions of armed conflicts. Arguments are presented regarding the need for Ukraine to develop a unified state policy to counter ecocide and other war crimes, in particular criminalization of the specified socially dangerous acts, establishment of an effective system for monitoring the state of the environment and fixing the amount of damage caused by the aggressor country, creating a special tribunal for criminals involved in ecocide in conditions of armed conflict. It is noted that the environmental direction of the National Post-War Recovery Plan should be based on the monitoring of regulatory acts in the field of environmental protection and contain a list of measures to restore and preserve ecosystems.