Use and protection of water bodies: corruption cases

Abstract

Corruption practicies that occure in the field of water bodies utilisation and protection in Russia increase ecological threats and undermine the system of legal regulation of relations on use and protection of the Water Fund. In the proposed article the authors conduct a critical analysis of the legal regulation for water relations (federal laws, regulatory legal acts, judicial practice) for the purpose of identifying the corruption risks and recorded corruption practicies in order to minimize and eliminate them. Basing on the judicial practice and scientific research results, the authors reveal several “painful points” of water legislation in Russia with respect to corruption risks and activities. The authors propose to fill the gaps in the existing law, which will effectively ensure the prevention and suppression of corruption in the utilization and protection of water bodies. The article applies methods of systemic analysis and modeling, and also uses universal scientific methods of induction and deduction, as well as abstraction. The thematic sections addressed by the study include: corruption risks and practicies at the present stage of the Water Act development; small water bodies and corrupt activities; Underground water objects and corruption risks; Monopoly and corruption risks in the field of water relations as well as Possibilities of public control in connection with corruption risks and practicies in Russia.