Environmental law and legal assistance of individuals sustaining a traditional lifestyle

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to justify the need to make amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, i.e. providing for exempting those individuals from criminal liability, who have committed acts, set forth formally, sustaining their traditional lifestyle in the North. The paper summarizes key issues of rights protection of indigenous minor peoples of the North (Khanty or Mansi), who sustain a traditional lifestyle, dealing with exploitation of ancestral lands: hunting, fishing, use of other resources. In the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, it is very common when individuals are being prosecuted for illegal felling (Article 260, Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), as well as for illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, possession, transportation or carrying of explosives or explosive devices (Article 222.1, Criminal Code of RF). However, using these lands make it possible for the general public to do so too, and it is not only for relatives or friends of the owner of ancestral lands. Following the casework, it has been found that in a significant number of cases the investigation fails to establish either the direct ownership of items limited in circulation (gunpowder, ammunition) or specific individuals who carried out the felling in a particular place. Such being the case, the legal owner of the land or its part is held liable. This new law will protect the indigenous peoples of the North from inconsistent criminal repression and preserve their cultural practices.