“Pravova derzhava”. Issue 37 (2026), pages 852–860.

DOI: 10.33663/0869-2491-2026-37-852-860

Polishchuk Serhii
Scientific and theoretical approaches to understanding criminal inaction in the context of environmental security

ISSN online: 2617-9776 print: 0869-2491

Extended Abstract. The article is devoted to the analysis of the problem of criminal inaction in the field of environmental security as one of the key factors in the transformation of potential environmental threats into real dangerous consequences for the environment, public health and security interests of the state. The relevance of the study is due to the growth of man-made, natural and military risks, as well as systematic cases of failure or improper performance by authorized entities of legally binding actions assigned to them. The work summarizes international, Western and national doctrinal approaches to understanding environmental security, traces the evolution of its legal consolidation in Ukraine and analyzes the main concepts that define environmental security as a state of protection of the vital interests of the individual, society and the state. Special attention is paid to the preventive nature of environmental security and the role of the human factor in ensuring its real effectiveness.

A separate block of the study is devoted to the theoretical, legal and criminological analysis of criminal inaction as an independent form of criminally significant behavior. National and foreign approaches to the definition of inaction, its limits of criminal liability, models of the duty to act and the concept of “guarantor” are considered. It is substantiated that it is the criminal inaction of authorized persons that is capable of leveling the potential of existing legal mechanisms for environmental protection. The conclusion is made about the need for further comprehensive research into the determinants, forms of manifestation and directions of counteraction to criminal inaction in the field of environmental safety in order to increase the effectiveness of criminal legal and criminological response.

Keywords: crimes committed through inaction in the field of environmental safety; condoning environmentally hazardous activities; criminal-legal environmental protection; state environmental policy of Ukraine; criminal liability.

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Дата першого надходження рукопису до видання: 23.12.2025
Дата прийнятого до друку рукопису після рецензування: 03.03.2026
Дата публікації: 24.03.2026