The Rio Declaration and Russian Environmental Law Mikhail Brinchuk （doctor of juridical sciences, professor, director of Center for environmental legal studies，Institute of state and law, RAS, member of the Russian ecological academy） 1. The Rio Declaration contains basic principles of environmentally sound conduct of world community and states at the present stage. From the point of view of the United Nations and participants of Conference on environment and development (1992), the national internal and external environmental state policy founded on these principles promotes ensuring of the national and international environmental legal order. Taking into account universal recognition of the principles contained in the Rio Declaration, they are sources of the Russian environmental law. Following the principles in process of national and international nature protection activity of Russia can serve for us as a criterion of an estimation of correctness, propriety of such activity. 2. In 90th, mainly after the UN Conference in Rio (but not in the direct connection with this event), the legislation in the field of the environmental protection in Russia was intensively developed. At that period there were approved: the comprehensive Law of the Russian Federation «On protection of the natural environment» (1991), Federal laws “On ecological expertise' (1995), «On specially protected natural territories» (1995), «On radiation safety of the population » (1996), «On the state regulation in the field of genetic engineering activity» (1996), «On safe handling of pesticides and agrochemicals» (1997), «On wastes of production and consumption» (1998). Was renewed land, mineral resources, water, forest, wildlife, atmospheric air legislation. In 2002 the new Federal law «On the environmental protection». The general characteristics of the environmental legislation are the following. As one of its essential merit we consider recognition and broad legislative, including constitutional regulation of the environmental human rights. The legal mechanism of prevention of environmental damage, preparation and making of the environmentally significant solutions are enforced. The application of economical measures of ensuring of rational nature use and environmental protection is stipulated. It is possible to say, that at the present stage the legislative fundamentals for progressive development of the environmental law are created. 3. According to the Rio Declaration the people have the right to healthy and fruitful life in harmony with the nature. The constitutional recognition in Russia of the right of everyone to a favourable environment, reliable information on the state of the environment, and compensation for damage caused to his (her) health and property by violations of environmental laws are the most significant, progressive tendency of the developing Russian environmental law. In the conditions of a complicated environmental situation in country, low efficiency of nature protection activity of the state legislative, especially constitutional, institution of environmental rights has for Russia large political and legal significance. The regulation in the legislation of the ecological human right and citizen is important not only for the individual, but also for the society and state. The socially responsible state, establishing(setting) this or that right, can expect that the citizens, realizing these rights, will promote raise of efficiency of environmental protection activity of the state itself. So, granting the citizens the right to participate in making decision process, in a procedure of an environmental impact assessment and ecological expertise, it is possible to expect raise of efficiency of executive bodies activities in the considered sphere. Accordingly the society and the state should be interested in activity of the citizens. The recognition of the human environmental rights stimulates a growth of awareness of the citizens, environmental consciousness and culture. One may also consider that creation of legal tolls for observing and protection of the environmental rights can serve as the factor for gradual recovering of a favourable state of the environment in the country. It is expected, that this will be promoted also by a gradual introduction in Russia of principles of sustainable development. 4. One of the most essential directions of development the environmental law in Russia is connected with the creation of the environmentally sound legal bases for ensuring sustainable development pursuant to the Report of International Commission on the Environment and Development and Rio Declaration. In Russia there are two decrees of the President concerning sustainable development: «On the state strategy of the Russian Federation on the environmental protection and ensuring sustainable development» (1994) and «On the concept of transition of the Russian Federation to sustainable development» (1996). The recognition by the world community of the concept of sustainable development is one of the most significant outcomes of international cooperation in the field of environmental protection. In the global scale the concept of sustainable development is an alternative to the dominated in the old days and at the present time in Russia and all over the world concept of the consuming relation of the human society to the nature and its resources. It is important that the oriented on a long perspective, the concept of sustainable development is founded on the idea of equality of environmental interests of the present and future generations. It is known, that the achievement by the modern society and a state of the purposes of social, economic and environmental policy was accompanied by the degradation of the nature to the detriment of the future generations. Fixed in the rules of law, the concept of sustainable development is the form of regulation of the social responsibility of the modern society and state for creating for the future generations conditions to satisfy their diverse needs - physiological, economical, spiritual and others - during interaction with the nature. A number of problems should be solved in the Russian environmental law in a context of sustainable development. They concern: а) establishing the scientifically reasonable limits of extraction of natural resources for satisfaction of economical requirements and limits of harmful chemical, physical and biological effects on the nature, b) ensuring fulfillment of environmental requirements in the solutions making process, c) execution of environmental requirements in the course of economic and other environmentally significant activities d) protection of environmental rights and legal interests of individuals and juridical persons, including rights and interests of the future generations. Fundamentals of legal ensuring of implementation of the concept of sustainable development will be gradually created in the Russian Federation in process of development and perfecting of a legal mechanism of regulation of protection of the environment, solutions making process, in accordance with the Rio Declaration. 5. Modification of the mechanism of protection of the environment is at present a main priority of development of the environmental legislation of Russia. The basic tools of a legal mechanism of an environmental protection and ensuring of rational usage of natural resources are environmental standards, environmental impact assessment, environmental expertise, licensing, certification, audit, monitoring, inventory of natural resources and harmful effects on the environment, supervision, legal responsibility for environmental offences and some others. Some of them are more advanced in the legislation, other - less. For example, such potentially efficient tools as environmental audit and certification are almost not applied in nature protection practice of Russia yet. The special need for an adequate introduction of environmental audit and certification into the mechanism of environmental law is dealt with the developmental of the market economy in the country. The economical relations developing in country, being a new and considerable factor affecting the development of environmental law, require modification of the mechanism for providing taking environmental norms into account in the decision making process. Development of the market economy is accompanied by privatization of different environmentally dangerous enterprises and other objects, bankruptcy, activating of bank and investment activity. The society needs legal norms directed to prevent appearance in the market environmentally non-sound products, providing raise of its quality and competitiveness. 6. However all these legislative measures can not have the special effect, until the state corrects its environmental policy and creates an adequate system of state management in the field of environmental protection and use of natural resources. It has become a tradition, that the defects of policy of the Russian state in the solution of economical problems of the society are compensated at the expense of intensive nature exploitation. The state doesn’t pay much attention to protection of the environment. It is easily seen from the fact of abolition in 1996 the Ministry of environmental protection, and in 2000 the State committee of environmental protection. The environmental protection functions are transferred to the Ministry of natural resources. 里约宣言和俄罗斯环境法 Mikhail Brinchuk (法学博士，教授，环境法研究中心主任，国家和法律研究所，RAS，俄罗斯生态研究会成员)