The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine has published the draft Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine on Strengthening Criminal Liability for Waste Management Offenses” for public discussion.
The text of the draft law, an explanatory note, and a comparative table are available on the official website of the Ministry.
The new draft law provides for changes to the following articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (CCU):
- Article 236. "Violation of environmental safety rules";
- Article 237 “Failure to eliminate consequences of environmental pollution”;
- Article 238 “Concealment or misrepresentation of information on environmental status or disease incidence among the population”;
- Article 239 “Contamination or deterioration of land”;
- Article 241 “Air pollution”;
- Article 242 “Violation of rules related to water protection”;
- Article 243 “Marine pollution”;
- Article 268 “Illegal movement of waste and secondary raw materials to Ukraine”.
Now let's take a look at the changes that the Ministry of Environment proposes to make to each of these articles of the CCU.
The Ministry proposes to significantly expand Article 236, “Violation of environmental safety rules”. Previously, it provided for only one type of punishment – imprisonment for a term of five to ten years, with the deprivation of
the right to occupy certain positions or engage in certain activities for a term of up to three years.
Now, it is proposed to reserve such a severe punishment only for actions that caused material damage on a particularly large scale or entailed grave consequences. In other cases, there is a fine of 1,000 to 10,000 tax-free minimum incomes, with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to 3 years, or imprisonment for up to 3 years.
Grave consequences include those that have caused:
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death of persons;
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environmental pollution of large areas;
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declaration of a certain locality (territory) as a zone of an environmental emergency situation;
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mass destruction of objects of the animal and plant world;
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significant deterioration of the environmental situation in a certain region (locality);
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disappearance, mass destruction, or grave diseases of objects of the animal and plant world;
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impossibility of restoring certain natural objects or using natural resources in a certain region for a long time;
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genetic alteration of certain natural objects.
Article 237 “Failure to take measures to eliminate the consequences of environmental pollution” previously provided liability only for pollution. Now, it also covers littering. In the current version, the Article stipulates punishment in the event of the death of persons; however, it is now proposed to replace that wording with “mass illness of people or other grave consequences.”
A significant change in this Article also concerns punishment. Previously, it provided for restriction of liberty or imprisonment for a term of up to five years. Now, it is proposed to set a minimum term of three years and a maximum of five years.
Regarding Article 238, the Ministry of Environmental Protection proposes changing its title from “Concealment or distortion of information about the environmental state or morbidity of the population” to “Failure to provide or provision of knowingly false information about the state of the natural environment or morbidity of the population.” It is also envisaged to increase the minimum fine from 1,000 to 2,000 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens.
The title of Article 239 has been expanded. Previously, it was “Pollution or Damage to Land.” The new title is: “Littering, Pollution, or Damage to Land and Soil.” Under the first part of this Article, in addition to a fine and deprivation of the right to hold certain positions, restriction of liberty for up to three years has been introduced.
A separate part singles out acts committed repeatedly or by prior conspiracy by a group of persons, or those that caused other grave consequences or pecuniary damage in an especially large amount.
The term of restriction or deprivation of liberty has also been increased: currently it is from two to five years; it is proposed to be from three to seven years.
Article 241, “Pollution of Atmospheric Air,” is also proposed to be amended by increasing fines. Previously, they ranged from 1,800 to 3,000 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens; now it is from 3,000 to 5,000.
Similarly to Article 239, a separate part covers acts committed repeatedly or by prior conspiracy by a group of persons, or those that caused pecuniary damage in a large amount.
Part three introduces the possibility of imprisonment for a term of five to seven years. Under the current version of the Criminal Code, only restriction of liberty is provided for such an offense.
For Article 242, the Ministry proposes changing the title. Previously, it was “Violation of Water Protection Rules.” The new title is: “Pollution, Littering of Surface or Underground Waters (Water Bodies).”
The minimum fine has been doubled, from 1,000 to 2,000 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens. The maximum term of imprisonment under this Article is proposed to be increased from five to seven years.
As in Articles 239 and 241, there is a separate part concerning repeated or group violations.
It is proposed to change the name of Article 243 from “Pollution of the Sea” to “Pollution of Internal Waters and/or the Territorial Sea of Ukraine,” thus expanding its scope of application.
The fine under part one here has increased the most: previously it ranged from 300 to 800 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens; now it is proposed to raise it to between 2,000 and 5,000.
The term of possible restriction or deprivation of liberty has also been increased, from three to five years.
Changes in part three provide for doubling the minimum fine, from 1,000 to 2,000 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens.
Meanwhile, the name of Article 268 of the Criminal Code is proposed to be narrowed. Currently, it is “Illegal Importation into the Territory of Ukraine of Waste and Secondary Raw Materials.” The new proposed name is: “Illegal Importation into the Territory of Ukraine of Waste.”
Under this Article, the amounts of fines are also increased. For part one, the lower limit is set at 200 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens (currently up to 100).
For part two, the Ministry of Environmental Protection proposes substantially raising the existing fine limits, from 50–200 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens to 2,000–4,000 non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens.
At the end of January, EcoPolitic reported that the government had approved a “Roadmap for Biowaste Management” in Ukraine for the period up to 2033.
