Міжнародний досвід протидії кримінальним правопорушенням проти довкілля

The article is devoted to a deeper study of international experience in combating criminal offenses against the environment, which are characterized by the heterogeneity of the value-legal dimensions of the mental perception of a person’s behavior in certain conditions. It is emphasized that the formation of international experience of combating criminal offenses against the environment took place under the influence of environmental crises and man-made disasters. Using the example of the European Union and the USA, it is found out that from the regulatory legal acts that were adopted in the second half of the twentieth century. and contained the obligation of the European Union member states to introduce criminal liability for crimes against the environment into national legislation, the European community “evolved” to unconditional protection of the environment through changes in criminal legislation. Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law”, Framework Decision of the Council of the EU “On the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law”, norms of criminal law, the increase in the number of criminalizations of certain acts against the environment indicates the formation of a clear policy of environmental preservation for future generations. Attention is focused on the Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law CETS No. 172, as well as on the fact that in 2024, on the basis of a compromise decision from 2023, the Council and the European Parliament officially adopted a Directive, the task of which is to improve the investigation of crimes against the environment. It is noted that the ECHR, guided by the principle of anthropocentrism, has developed a practice of considering cases related to environmental protection. Such cases have also been considered against Ukraine. The practice of the ECHR indicates a small number of such cases. It is emphasized that the US environmental law system consists of general laws (concerning the assessment and regulation of ecological processes) and special laws (aimed at the protection of specific natural resources and the environment in general). Criminal liability for crimes against the environment is provided for by federal law, as well as by the laws of individual states.