EURO-ECO 2010 Hanover 2 - 3 Dezember 2010	Environmental, Engineering - Economic and Legal Aspects for Sustainable Living
	European Academy of Natural Sciences, Hanover European Scientific Society, Hanover University of Bremen, Bremen

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Abstracts EURO-ECO 2010

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The application of the judicial system to protect civic ecological rights is the most efficient channel of the public influence on the ecological situation. Such institutions as cassational appeal, supervisional appeal, the right of citizens and public organizations to participate in processes, formation of the Commissioners for civic rights institution and some others can be used for this purpose. Russian judicial system partially reacts to initiatives of the ecologically concerned public: judges accept dozens of claims, public organizations won some law suits in Moscow, Tomsk, Chelyabinsk, Khabarovsk, Tyumen, and at Baikal Lake, Sakhalin and in some other regions.

On the other hand, the cooperation of public and law enforcement agencies in environmental protection faces a number of difficulties and contradictions. According to the Soviet tradition, the public opinion regards any reference to the court as a display of claimant’s quarrelsome temper. The citizens also don’t trust the court system as a government institution. Unfortunately it is confirmed by many examples so far. Sometimes even well-known lawyers conducting nature protection cases may be framed up. The method of making up artificial barriers for registration and re-registration of public organizations is also applied, as well as liquidation of public organizations by court decisions after the lawsuits started by registries. (For instance, Krasnodar regional public environmental organization “Ekurs” faced such problem in 2002 because it didn’t present its activity report, although, according to the law, this fact can’t cause such court decision).

The experience suggests that the police function to provide environmental safety is not performed properly. However this direction is not mentioned in the official list of police powers (except GIBDD - Traffic Safety Department). Such form of police and public cooperation as police helpers practically vanished. The experience of the ecological police work approved by All-Russian Conference on Environmental safety didn’t become widespread.

In early 2000-s Russian political regime tended to intensification of its authoritarian principles. There are objective reasons for this historically and objectively reasonable trend to a certain extent. However, if the state concentrates the power in its hands, it shouldn’t relieve itself of responsibility for numerous problems. The public can play an important role in their solution. The state should support constructive and useful public activity, particularly concerning the cause of environmental protection.