Resolving Legal Disputes Related to the Elimination of Land (Land Plots) Pollution by Solid Municipal Waste

Administrative cases on the elimination of land pollution by municipal solid waste are somewhat complex. With the adoption of Resolution No. 27-P of May 30, 2023 by the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation and the upcoming change in the legislation on production and consumption waste, judicial practice in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation is developing ambiguously. A number of issues require resolution, in particular, who is the proper administrative defendant in claims for recognizing as illegal inaction on failure to eliminate sites of unauthorized placement of municipal solid waste on land plots, the ownership of which is not delimited, or which are in state ownership, on the distribution of responsibilities for financing these activities. The issues related to establishing intentional guilty actions of local government bodies in the emergence and operation of unauthorized waste disposal sites, as well as issues related to guaranteed fair co-financing of expenses for the elimination of land pollution by municipal solid waste from state budgets, etc., require clarification. This article presents the main legal positions of the courts of higher instances on this category of cases, and also provides the author’s comments on the issues that arise in the courts when resolving such disputes.