ST 261 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
1. Destruction or damage to forest plantations and other plantings as a result of careless handling of fire or other sources of increased danger -
shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of two hundred thousand to four hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of one to two years, or by compulsory labor for a term of up to four hundred eighty hours, or by corrective labor for a term of up to two years, or by forced labor. labor for a term of up to three years, or imprisonment for the same period.
2. Acts provided for in part one of this article, if they caused major damage, -
shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of three hundred thousand to five hundred thousand rubles, or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of two to three years, or by compulsory labor for a term of up to four hundred eighty hours, or by corrective labor for a term of up to two years, or by forced labor. for a term of up to four years, or imprisonment for the same term.
3. Destruction or damage to forest plantations and other plantings by arson, other generally dangerous means or as a result of pollution or other negative impact -
shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of five hundred thousand to one million rubles or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of three to four years, or by imprisonment for a term of up to eight years with a fine in the amount of two hundred thousand to five hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of wages payment or other income of the convicted person for a period of eighteen months to three years or without it.
4. Acts provided for in part three of this article, if they caused major damage, -
shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of one million to three million rubles or in the amount of the wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of four to five years, or by imprisonment for a term of up to ten years with a fine in the amount of three hundred thousand to five hundred thousand rubles or in the amount of wages wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of two to three years or without it.
Note
. In this article, major damage is recognized as damage if the value of destroyed or damaged forest plantations and other plantings, calculated according to the rates and methodology approved by the Government of the Russian Federation, exceeds fifty thousand rubles.
Under what articles of the Labor Code can the persons specified in Art. 261 TK?
Workers named in Art. 261 of the Labor Code, except pregnant women, can be dismissed on some grounds presented in Art. 81 TK:
- clause 5, part 1 – for repeated failure to fulfill duties;
- clause 6, part 1 – for gross violation of labor discipline, even once;
- clause 7, part 1 – for guilty actions of an employee servicing commodity or monetary assets, which resulted in a loss of trust;
- clause 8, part 1 – for committing an immoral act by an employee performing educational functions;
- clause 11, part 1 – for false information provided during employment.
In addition, the provisions of Art. 81 Labor Code, providing for special responsibilities for management.
More about dismissals under Art. 81 of the Labor Code, find out: “Termination of an employment contract at the initiative of the employer .
Objects, subjects and subjects of crime
They coincide regardless of what part the acts are qualified for, so we will not consider them separately.
The subject of crimes is forests and other plantings. They cannot be shrubs or trees that are located on agricultural land, garden or summer cottage plots.
Attention . In case of damage or liquidation of such vegetation, the acts are qualified under Article 167 (deliberate damage or destruction of property) and Article 168 (the same actions, but committed through negligence) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Object – relations in the field of ensuring environmental safety of people.
The subject is a mentally healthy citizen who was 16 years old at the time of the crime.
What is the employer's procedure if the employment contract with a pregnant employee has expired?
The employer is obliged to extend an expiring fixed-term contract if the employee has requested this in writing. The period is extended at least until the end of pregnancy. At the same time, since, according to the established procedure, the employer is also obliged to provide the employee with maternity leave (Maternity leave), the contract is legally extended immediately until the end of the Maternity leave. In this case, the employer may require confirmation of the employee’s condition by providing her with relevant medical documents.
For details on concluding fixed-term employment contracts, see: “We are drawing up a fixed-term employment contract - sample for 2021. ”
Judicial practice under Article 261 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation
Determination of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation dated March 15, 2018 N 594-O
In support of its decision, the presidium of the Krasnodar Regional Court, in particular, indicated that the actions of A.Yu. Katuntsev were directed to improve the territory and remove obstacles to construction work on a plot of land owned by him as private property, intended for individual housing construction; neither part 3 of article 1 of the Law of the Krasnodar Territory “On the protection of green spaces in the Krasnodar Territory”, nor its other provisions contain a criminal law prohibition on cutting down green spaces growing on land plots allocated for individual housing construction; according to the explanations contained in paragraph 15 of the resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated October 18, 2012 N 21 “On the application by courts of legislation on liability for violations in the field of environmental protection and natural resource management” (as amended on October 31, 2017), do not apply to the subject of crimes provided for in Articles 260 and 261 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, trees, shrubs and vines growing on personal plots of land provided for individual housing, garage construction, personal subsidiary and dacha farming, gardening, livestock and truck farming, unless otherwise provided by special regulatory legal acts.
Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated October 31, 2017 N 41
"15. The subject of crimes provided for in Articles 260 and 261 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are both forest plantings, that is, trees, shrubs and vines growing in forests, and trees, shrubs and vines growing outside forests (for example, plantings in parks, alleys, separately planted trees within the city limits). In this case, it does not matter whether forest plantations or trees, shrubs, and vines that are not classified as forest plantations are planted artificially or whether they grew without purposeful human efforts.”
How can an employee confirm that he belongs to persons who have guarantees under Art. 261 TK?
Usually, if the organization has established personnel and accounting records, then the employer already has information about the presence of children and marital status. And he is obliged to take it into account, for example, when preparing cuts.
However, in a difficult economic situation, it would be useful to play it safe and transfer to the HR department (or the person responsible for personnel records) copies of additional documents confirming the right to use the guarantees under Art. 261 TK. For example,
- certificate of a large family;
- a certificate from the Employment Fund and an extract from the spouse’s work record book (if the second spouse does not work);
- a certificate from the medical and social examination bureau confirming the child’s disability, etc.
You can find more complete information on the topic in ConsultantPlus. Free trial access to the system for 2 days.
What are forest plantations
In dictionaries, this concept is interpreted as the totality of all woody and non-woody plants that have gone through the same history of development in homogeneous forest conditions.
They are divided into different categories:
- artificial (forest plantings of certain species, through which wood with specified characteristics is obtained);
- plus (the most highly productive, high-quality and stable plantings for forest growing conditions);
- protective (artificial plantings in the form of arrays and strips to protect canals, settlements or roads);
- dead (areas where plantings died due to massive damage), etc.
Release from liability
Criminal liability cannot be avoided. The only exception that a criminal should rely on is the announcement of an amnesty or pardon. Theoretically, it is possible to avoid criminal liability, but only if the medical commission concludes that the person who committed the crime is incompetent.
The set of legal norms establishing liability for violation of laws in the field of forestry makes one think about the advisability of committing such a crime. However, thousands of such offenses are registered in Russia every year, which calls into question either a person’s sanity or the severity of punishments for such acts.
Overview of the regulatory framework
The main document defining the state's position on forestry is the Forest Code of the Russian Federation.
The code enshrines the general principles of forestry management, lays down the regulatory framework for conducting inspections on the use of forest areas, and stipulates the principles for bringing perpetrators to justice.
Specific types of violations of forestry legislation that entail administrative penalties are laid down in the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation regulates the consequences for improper treatment of forests within the framework of criminal law.
The Civil Code of the Russian Federation stipulates cases of civil liability for violation of forestry.
Federal Law No. 294-FZ contains the legal framework for organizing inspections of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs.
Administrative responsibility
This type of legal liability for violations of forestry legislation obliges the violator to experience certain hardships. Such liability is established in accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. Examples of penalties may be fines for violation of forestry legislation, disqualification, and suspension of activities. The peculiarity of this type of punishment is that the representative of the government agency who committed the violation may also be subject to punishment. Decisions on assigning liability for offenses in the field of forest relations are made by judges when considering a case.
Let's consider the articles of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, which are most often applied to violators on the territory of our country.
| Rule of law | Offense | Penalties (citizens, officials, legal entities) |
| Art. 7.9 Code of Administrative Offenses | Arbitrary occupation of a forest area or its improper use without permission | 20-50 thousand rubles. 50-100 thousand rubles. 200-300 thousand rubles. |
| Art. 7.10 Code of Administrative Offenses | Arbitrary transfer of a forest plot or arbitrary exchange of forest plots | 500-1000 rub. 1 thousand rubles - 2 thousand rubles. 10 thousand rubles - 20 thousand rubles. |
| Art. 8.12 Code of Administrative Offenses | Improper use of forest areas near water bodies | 3-5 thousand rubles. 40-50 thousand rubles. 200-300 thousand rubles. or temporary ban on activities for up to 90 days |
| Art. 8.24 Code of Administrative Offenses | Illegal granting of rights to a forest plot (exclusively to officials) | 20-30 thousand rubles. |
| part 1st. 8.25 Code of Administrative Offenses | Illegal logging | 1-3 thousand rubles. 10-30 thousand rubles. 50-100 thousand rubles. |
| Part 2 Art. 8.25 Code of Administrative Offenses | Violation of deforestation rules | 800-2000 rub. 5-10 thousand rubles. 40-80 thousand rubles. |
| part 3 art. 8.25 Code of Administrative Offenses | Violation of the rules for the extraction of resin and medicinal herbs | 200-500 rub. 500-1000 rub. 5-10 thousand rubles. |
| Part 4 of Article 8.25 of the Administrative Code | Violations of contracts for the use of forest plots | 800-2000 rub. 5-10 thousand rubles. 40-80 thousand rubles. |
| Part 1 Art. 8.26 Code of Administrative Offenses | Unauthorized haymaking and grazing in the forest | 200-500 rub. 500-1000 rub. 5-10 thousand rubles. |
| Part 2 Art. 8.26 Code of Administrative Offenses | Arbitrary harvesting of moss, damage to the forest floor | 500-1000 rub. 1-2 thousand rubles. 10-20 thousand rubles. |
| Part 3 of Article 8.26 of the Administrative Code | Apiaries in places not intended for this purpose | 500-1000 rub. 1-2 thousand rubles. 10-20 thousand rubles. |
| Art. 8.27 Code of Administrative Offenses | Failure to comply with forest reproduction conditions (officials and legal entities only) | 5-10 thousand rubles. 200-300 thousand rubles. |
| Part 1 Art. 8.28 Code of Administrative Offenses | Unauthorized cutting down of trees and digging them up | 3-4 thousand rubles. 20-40 thousand rubles. 200-300 thousand rubles. |
| Part 2 Art. 8.28 Code of Administrative Offenses | Unauthorized cutting down of trees and digging them up using machinery | 4-5 thousand rubles. 40-50 thousand rubles. 300-500 thousand rubles. |
| part 3 art. 8.28 Code of Administrative Offenses | Purchase, transportation, storage of unauthorized wood | 5 thousand rubles 50 thousand rubles 400-700 thousand rubles. |
| Art. 8.29 Code of Administrative Offenses | Destruction of anthills, burrows and nests | 300-500 rub. |
| Art. 8.31 Code of Administrative Offenses | Failure to comply with sanitary safety requirements while in the forest | 500-1000 rub. 1-2 thousand rubles. 10-20 thousand rubles. |
| Part 1 Art. 8.32 Code of Administrative Offenses | Failure to comply with fire safety requirements in the forest | 1-3 thousand rubles. 10-20 thousand rubles. 50-200 thousand rubles. |
| Part 2 Art. 8.32 Code of Administrative Offenses | Setting fire to brushwood and forest floor | 3-4 thousand rubles. 15-25 thousand rubles. 150-250 thousand rubles. |
| part 3 art. 8.32 Code of Administrative Offenses | Violation of fire safety rules in the forest | 5 thousand rubles 50 thousand rubles 500-1000 thousand rubles. |
| Art. 8.35 Code of Administrative Offenses | Extermination of rare animals and plants | 2-5 thousand rubles. 15-25 thousand rubles. 500-1000 thousand rubles. |
Analyzing the composition of an administrative offense and administrative penalties, we can come to the conclusion that they are correlated in severity. The greater the consequences, the greater the punishment. In some cases, fines against legal entities reach 1 million rubles.
General principles of criminal liability
Firstly, criminal liability is assigned exclusively by a court verdict, and nothing else. The procedure for imposing such punishment is regulated by the Penal Code of the Russian Federation; it is very strict and does not tolerate even minor deviations. As a rule, criminal cases are considered by the most experienced judges of the magistrates' courts.
A meeting of a judicial body to consider a case on imposing criminal punishment against a person who has committed a criminal act is heard no earlier than three and no later than fourteen days from the date of receipt of the materials by the judicial body. The verdict rendered in the name of the state can be appealed within ten days from the date of its proclamation. If the parties have not appealed the verdict, then it enters into legal force.
Secondly, criminal punishment is always aimed at a specific person. It cannot be imposed directly on a legal entity. Consequences may arise in relation to the director or employee of the company.
Thirdly, prosecution for violations of forest legislation applies only to citizens who have reached the age of sixteen years or older. This condition is mandatory for imposing a penalty. Citizens under this age are not responsible for violations of forestry legislation, according to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
An important condition is the procedure for initiating a case. Only investigative bodies have the right to do this. Forestry officials can only draw up a violation report and report the criminal act to the investigation. The investigation must decide whether to initiate a criminal case. Further events can develop according to three scenarios: initiation of a case, refusal to initiate a case, or transfer of jurisdiction.
A common feature of all three articles is that they include the concept of significant, large and especially large damage. These frameworks are established by the Government of the Russian Federation. Significant damage is considered to be damage in total exceeding five thousand rubles. To classify an act as major damage, an amount ten times larger is required. An amount exceeding one and a half hundred thousand rubles is considered very large damage. The total amount of damage caused significantly affects the prescribed punishment for the perpetrator.
Also, clarifying signs of criminal acts that aggravate liability are the commission of a criminal act by a group of people (possibly by prior agreement) and the commission of a crime through abuse of official powers. These signs also increase the severity of the punishment.
The maximum measure of influence is represented by restriction of freedom for the period specified in the sentence. In most cases, arrest is also accompanied by a fine. For violation of forestry legislation, such types of liability as corrective, forced and compulsory labor are also provided.
Once the main points have been agreed upon, you can move on. Let's consider the articles establishing legal liability for violations of forestry legislation within the framework of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
Civil consequences
Civil liability for violations of forest legislation is based on an agreement between the state or municipality transferring the forest plot and the entity receiving the forest. There is no option to avoid drawing up a contract when using the site. The forest plot is acquired as a property under a sale and purchase agreement and is leased. Subleasing is not prohibited by law, subject to a list of formalities.
Civil liability for failure to comply with forest laws arises from the moment the user of the forest plot violates the clauses of the agreement. In order to bring an unscrupulous party to this type of liability, the state is obliged to file a claim in court. The judicial authority makes a decision to bring the perpetrator to justice or release from it.
The laws of the Russian Federation stipulate a number of cases in which the tenant or owner of a forest plot risks immediately losing all rights to the forest. Instant termination of lease agreements and agreements for the purchase of forest plots occurs for the following reasons:
— violation of regulations for the use of forests and the development project;
— failure to comply with the law regarding the protection of forest areas from fires;
— ignoring mandatory requirements for protecting a forest area;
— connivance in matters of forest pollution and littering;
— failure to fulfill obligations to ensure the reproduction of the forest area;
- use of property with significant, repeated offenses, non-payment of rent.
