SOME PROBLEMATIC ISSUES OF PREVENTING CRIMINAL OFFENSES IN THE ENVIRONMENTAL SPHERE IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The most sensitive indicators of a society’s civilizational maturity are
criminal offenses in the areas of environmental safety, environmental protection,
and the misuse of budgetary funds. The growing trend of environmental crime in
general, and crimes related to subsoil use at the expense of the state budget and
the environment in particular, poses a significant challenge for Ukraine, especially
under the conditions of martial law.
By the way, it is the military illegal actions of the aggressor state — the
Russian Federation — that have caused enormous damage to environmental
safety and the environment, especially in the territories occupied by the enemy.
Therefore, the issues of combating and preventing criminal offenses in the fields
of subsoil use, environmental protection, and other types of natural resource
exploitation — including through the misuse of budgetary funds — are highly
relevant and require ongoing scientific attention.
The misuse of public funds allocated by the state for environmental safety
and protection by individuals vested with public authority contributes to reckless,
corporatized commercialization, significant imitation of environmental and
criminological policy, and a deepening of social injustice among members of
society.
Unfortunately, criminal statistics are replenished daily with cases of minor
offenses, while the most dangerous criminal activities of financial-industrial and
organized criminal groups in the environmental sphere remain largely beyond the
reach of a highly politicized criminal justice system.
Thus, environmental crime under the legal regime of martial law represents
a highly profitable type of business within politico-economic criminal practices,
and only law enforcement agencies are capable of counteracting it. Accordingly, in
the course of our study on the prevention of criminal offenses in the
environmental sphere, we employed a methodology aimed at understanding and
addressing the problem through the use of criminal liability by law enforcement
agencies for the misuse of state-allocated environmental protection funds.
In addressing the prevention of criminal offenses in the environmental
sphere, we hypothesized the practical need for a comprehensive, scientifically
grounded study aimed at providing practical recommendations to law
enforcement bodies regarding criminal-preventive activities in this field.
The article notes that existing criminological research is substantial and
distinguished by the depth of its scientific developments. However, it mostly
pertains to general issues of preventing criminal offenses in the environmental
domain. In order to harmonize national legislation with EU law, there is a need to
introduce a series of amendments to the articles that establish criminal liability for environmental violations in Ukraine. Furthermore, it is necessary to address
the issue of aligning criminal-legal norms aimed at ensuring environmental
security with the corresponding administrative-legal regulations in the field of
environmental protection.