In this paper, the issues of qualification of criminal safety violations at coal mining enterprises are discussed in detail. Firstly, a number of articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for qualification of these acts are defined. The differences between articles 143 and 216 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with the analysis of a concrete example from judicial practice are considered. A similar procedure is carried out in the course of qualifying safety violations at coal mining enterprises under article 217 of the Criminal Code. In this work, the authors do not try to justify the need to decriminalize any articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, but try to work with the existing legislative framework so that the qualification rules formulated in the work can be used in practice. Also the authors formulate rules for the qualifications of the violations considered in this paper and propose amendments to the Criminal Code that do not require any “revolutionary” changes. A special difficulty is that there are no scientific recommendations on the qualification of criminal safety violations at coal mining enterprises.

Abstract. The legal side of subsoil use is one of the cornerstones of creating conditions for the transition to sustainable development. The will of the state -the guarantor of taking environmental measures should be implemented in the relevant legislative acts. The authors consider the main directions of legal regulation of the coal mining process in the territory of Russia. Basic legal documents regulating relations in the sphere of subsoil use of the Russian Federation are considered, problems of legislation on subsoil, water resources and land use are identified, and the main directions for its improvement are outlined. Also, a comparative analysis of the legal documents of the Russian Federation in this area is provided, that shows the obvious shortcomings of this issue from the point of view of the legislation.

In the article, from the standpoint of a systematic approach, the forensic characterization of safety rules criminal violations during mining operations is analyzed. That is the basic element which determines the content and algorithm of uncovering of crimes, the investigation and trial of a criminal case. The subject (the identity of offender) is its central, basic element. It is noted that the element of subject (the identity of offender) is the most informative when investigating criminal violations of safety rules during mining operations. It is based on his study in the unity and interrelation of the following aspects: official position, social and psychological properties and personality traits and victimization behavior of the criminal offence victims and third parties. The situation of a crime (the second element of forensic characterization) is structured according to the circumstances that characterize pre-, criminal, and post-criminal state of outward things; three interrelated and interdependent are pointed out. The complex combination of the levels and edges of each selected elements of a cognizable object, due to the specifics of the crime in question, also determines the peculiarities of investigative actions and search activities at the initial stage of the investigation of safety rules criminal violations during mining operations. The article proposes recommendations to overcome the objective difficulties encountered in the investigation of criminal violations of safety rules during mining operations.

The article examines the features of tactics for inspecting the scene of the incident when investigating criminal violations of safety rules during mining. When observing the preparatory stage, special attention in the inspection of the scene is paid to the membership. In particular, we believe that when investigating criminal violations of safety rules in the conduct of mining operations, it is inappropriate to involve attesting witnesses in the inspection. At the same time, it is advisable to expand the circle of specialists involved in the inspection of the accident site (electricians, mine surveyors, etc.). A feature of the tactics of the working stage, in our opinion, is the use of an eccentric research method, regardless of the type of accident. At the same time, when directly searching for traces, carriers of information, moving from the center to the periphery, one should be guided, first of all, by the type of man-triggered incident. The final stage consists of the following: a) finalization of the results of the inspection of the scene of the accident (we recommend that forensic experts be involved in this work – if there are corpses, and specialists of technical profiles corresponding to the type of accident; b) putting forward versions about the essence of what happened, its reasons, the perpetrators and determining the direction of the investigation.