Judicial protection as an effective mechanism for ensuring environmental rights of citizens

Abstract

The author examines various aspects of the judicial protection of the violated rights of citizens in the environmental sphere. The constitutional and legal foundations of judicial protection of the rights of citizens, including the rights to a favorable environment, are disclosed. Analyzed the provisions of international acts that contribute to the protection of violated environmental rights: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights. The effectiveness of specific cases on the protection of environmental rights in the European Court is considered. An analysis of the variability of environmental and legal protection depending on violations of various norms of the Federal Law «On Environmental Protection» is given. The indicators of measures of prosecutorial supervision and modern judicial statistics on the consideration of cases in the environmental sphere are analyzed. The reasons for the low negotiability and low effectiveness of court decisions to protect the environmental rights of citizens are considered. A specific example of a case with personal participation on violated environmental rights of citizens in Moscow was given. Violations are associated with changes to Moscow urban planning and environmental legislation and the loss of large areas. Specially protected natural areas under the «garage amnesty». The reasons for such legislative decisions are identified, and a measure is proposed to eliminate the gaps in such innovations.