The Problem of Identifying and Recovering Difficult to Restore Ecological Damages in the Context of Inadmissibility of Burden of Dual Liability

Abstract

Compensation for environmental damage is one of the "eternal" topics of environmental law, especially given the marked increase in the number of court cases belonging to this category and the increased attention to them from both civil society and the scientific and expert community. The principles of payment for environmental management and compensation for environmental damage proclaimed in the Law "On Environmental Protection" and the Environmental Doctrine of Russia ("the polluter pays"), on the one hand, should ensure maximum restoration of the disturbed state of the natural environment and, on the other, should not lead to the imposition of double responsibility for the same act, which could It would eliminate all incentives for conscientious nature users to voluntarily compensate for harm by performing restoration work. The latest practice of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, and arbitration courts on significant issues of the application of legislation on compensation for environmental damage in the context of the above principles and aspects is summarized and analyzed. The authors, based on the analysis of doctrinal provisions and materials of judicial practice, draw conclusions that the existing approaches of the courts do not allow to fully maintain the balance of interests of participants in legal relations and often entail the imposition of double responsibility on individuals. In conclusion, the ways of improving legislation and law enforcement practice are proposed.