Management of unused or used agricultural land plots in violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation: A comparative legal aspect

Abstract

The involvement in the turnover of unused or used agricultural land plots in violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation is connected with the message of the President of the Russian Federation to the Federal Assembly in 2015, in which this problem was voiced. In 2016 the legislator did some work, the essence of which was to create a legal basis for the seizure of agricultural land plots from their owners in case of their non-use for their intended purpose or use in violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation. Consolidating this position, the legislator touched upon the institution of property rights protection. This study aims to protect the rights of owners and to demonstrate the ineffectiveness of such a measure. Russia has previously taken steps to encourage owners of such land plots through the taxation system, but this did not give the expected result. Thus, it should be stated that we do not yet have an effective mechanism for solving this problem. Along with the compulsory termination of property rights, developed countries are aware of other mechanisms for improving the efficiency of the use of agricultural land, such as: planning, development by the authorities of measures to assist owners of land plots, forced leasing of such plots, carrying out works to preserve the landscape. In order to examine these measures, the legal framework, research works, and experience of the European Union, the UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, recognized by the world community as the most successful in the development of agriculture, were analyzed using historical, logical, comparative-legal, and other methods of research. The mechanisms of agricultural land management in developed countries, including constitutional guarantees for the protection of property rights and the success of the implementation of alternative methods, proven by practice in order to apply them on the territory of Russia, were studied. As a result of the analysis, the author came to the conclusion that the forced deprivation of property rights does not solve the stated problem, which is confirmed by the criticism of the scientific community and statistical data for the last five years. In addition, the legislator, fixing the compulsory termination of ownership of agricultural land plots, probably doubts the successful implementation of such a mechanism, since they provide for the responsibility of the new owner of the land plot seized and sold at auction if the owner does not start using it for its intended purpose within a year from the moment of its acquisition. Thus, an alternative solution to the problem could be the management mechanisms of countries successful in agriculture - mechanisms that can be fixed in the current legislation of Russia.