Protection of mineral resources under martial law: Problems of administrative-legal and criminal-legal support

The purpose of the study was to identify and analyse key administrative and criminal problems in the field of subsoil protection under martial law, and to develop proposals for reducing the level of offences and combating corruption. The methodology covered an integrated approach, including analysis of current legislation, processing of official statistics and expert surveys. The main factors affecting the effectiveness of law enforcement and control over the use of subsoil resources were identified, gaps in the regulatory framework were identified, and the effectiveness of existing tools for combating violations was assessed. The study involved 15 experts: lawyers, representatives of law enforcement agencies and specialists in the field of public administration. The results show that the situation with subsurface protection has progressively become more complicated: the criticality indicators of individual problems have increased from “significant” to critical. The most important areas of improvement were the creation of transparent administrative and legal procedures and effective counteraction to corruption groups. The change in the configuration of threats is characterised: from mostly moderate manifestations to a combination of significant and critical conditions, which are aggravated by complementary control failures. The actual scale of law enforcement has been established. The proposed recommendations are aimed at strengthening control, updating the regulatory framework, and introducing electronic tools for recording the activities of subsurface users. The practical significance of the study lies in the fact that its results can become the basis for making managerial decisions aimed at ensuring legality and transparency in the use of natural resources even during a difficult period of martial law