On the Issue of Jurisdiction of Ecological Disputes

Abstract

The scientific article is devoted to the delimitation of jurisdiction of courts in considering and resolving cases in the field of ecology on the basis of case law and positions of scientists while highlighting the variety of possible problematic aspects faced by both parties and courts on this issue. It is proved that the category of jurisdiction is significantly developed in the doctrine of law and is clearly enshrined in each piece of legislation governing a particular type of procedural law. At the same time, based on the spread of environmental offenses established by criminal and administrative law, namely, the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, the Criminal Code of Ukraine, some other regulations, the issue of lack of a unified notion of jurisdiction over environmental offenses remains relevant. Emphasizing the problematic aspects, the peculiarity of the implementation of the constitutional right to a safe environment was noted, in particular by protecting the violated right through members of the public, the provisions of which are provided by the 1998 Aarhus Convention. Relevant examples in the field of justice are given. The critical importance of the case law on establishing the jurisdiction of environmental cases has been established and the variety of possible problematic aspects faced by both the parties to the dispute and the courts on this issue has been highlighted. As a result, it is noted that when considering disputes over environmental violations in general, the decisive indicator of the assignment of such cases to a particular jurisdiction is the nature of the dispute, and only then - the subject composition and the actual subject of the dispute.