Some Regulation Features of Land Relations Within the Boundaries of the Central Ecological Zone of the Baikal Natural Territory

The article attempts to reveal the genesis of legislation on the protection of Lake Baikal using a historical matrix. It also describes the inclusion of Lake Baikal in the World Heritage List in the context of UNESCO’s ‘environmental agenda’ and nature protection policy. It is established that the regulation of land relations in the central ecological zone of the Baikal natural territory is complex and implies the combination of several legal regimes. This creates difficulties associated with the circulation of the relevant land plots, as well as economic activity in the territory directly adjacent to the lake. The authors of the article note the high importance of transparent legal regulation of land relations within the boundaries of the central ecological zone of the Baikal nature protection area, citing a number of examples from current court practice, including the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. The analysis of judicial acts leads to the conclusion that when considering legal disputes about the ownership of land plots, the interests of the Russian Federation, linked to the goal of preserving the unique ecosystem of Lake Baikal, prevail over the interests of third parties, physical and legal, if they are reduced to the possession, use and (or) disposal of land. The text reflects both the content of normative legal and judicial acts and the problems faced by law-abiding citizens (land users and landowners). In conclusion, some ways to protect the interests of private individuals are proposed, such as, for example, unification of actual spatial data and transferring them to an accessible mapping platform, as well as the creation of a publicly accessible database on the available land fund, etc.